Finding Her Fairytale
by MusicLover2010
Summary: SasuSaku; Out of the blue, Sakura felt a cap being placed upon her head. Then it was tapped downwards to cover her tear-stained face. "Hn, some girls think that crying makes them look pretty and charming. But honestly, it makes them look ugly." ... "In other words, stop crying." AU
1. Chapter 1

_**Finding Her Fairytale**_

_**Chapter One**_

**{A/N}: **Hey! Let's start off with a mini introduction shall we? I'll tell you my dreams, likes, dislikes, and my life story! YAY! JUST KIDDING!

But the name's MusicLover. My current readers call me either lover-chan or anything else would be fine. So I've updated this story on the edge of summer vacation which means that updates are now "wobbly" looking, so follow me on **tumblr** to heard the latest news of my stories, updates, or if you're a non-member and have a question, ask it there. Any questions or concern with anything just tumblr or PM me and I'll reply back in an instant. Man…if I can only do that with my updates -_-"

**_Just read, enjoy, have a good laugh or two, let a tear slip here and there, get mad at cliffhangers or late updates, and review. Even if it's a one word, review._**

**_Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!_**

* * *

**Beta-read by E Person**

* * *

Dull emerald eyes searched every row and seat for the colors yellow and brown but found none. Her eyes stung as tears threatened to fall.

To anyone present in the room, they saw a girl smiling on the verge of tears because her years of high school had finally came to an end and that they were happy tears, but Ino and Hinata knew the real truth. They shot the rosette a comforting gaze, telling her that everything was going to be fine.

In their red graduation gowns, Hinata and Ino scanned the room for the umpteenth time trying to find the bouncing blond and brunette. Just like Sakura, they found none.

Sakura couldn't believe it; they broke their promise and stood her up. Her rosy lips began to quiver before she let out a shaky breath and began her once in a lifetime speech.

"For the past two weeks, which were crammed and filled with studying and exams, I never would have thought this day would come: our graduation." Sakura laughed forcedly, "Wow, doesn't that sound familiar? I remember four years ago, I gave this same speech at our Recognition or, in short, our 8th grade graduation, and here we are again. But this time it's for real."

Her classmates smiled at each other. "Before anything though, I would like to thank all of the teachers at SHS. They might not know it, but they've inspired me, motivated me, and taught me so much. Coming from everyone, we're quite thankful to have such wonderful teachers even if the thanks in return is a five page essay on the human brain."

This commented cause everyone to laugh as they looked at SHS's strictest Psychology teacher. "In a few summer months, we'll be moving into universities and colleges. We'll finally get to step into the real world and out of this fairytale. It may be harsh, but we've all known this was coming. Real life, the real world out there is not some fairytale. It's reality. Some of us might not even know where they're applying yet for school either. Are we going to survive college? Are we going to make new friends but lose the ones we have now? As girls, are we going to find that Prince Charming or that knight in shining armor through all of that school work? Are we going to fit in? What are we going to do? Are we ever going to meet again?"

"It's hard to finally agree to this, but this moment right here might just be the last one we'll ever get to have together again, 'til our high school reunion that is. After this summer, we're going to be apart. Some of us are staying here in Suna while some are moving out of the country for studying, or maybe we're going to get married and settle down somewhere and lose contact. Maybe, in some cases, you get on a train and get lost, and you might even fall in love. No one will truly know 'til it happens. I guess that's the adventure of it all.

"The class I'm standing in front of now will be my family for the rest of my life. That sounded corny and lame, but I know you all are feeling the same way. We've been through the unexpected groupings of our wonderful teachers or detention, but sometimes we found ourselves not minding it as we find and create new friendships or realize that we're not alone. We've shared long school projects, triumphant sports victories, crushes that left us heartbroken, friends, laughs, and cries. I have to say, the friends and classmates I have now are the ones I want to keep for life. We're truly United Scorpions, Class of 2012."

Applauses erupted as shouts and cries filled the room, and Sakura waited as their head master gave them the signal before throwing their hats up in the air. That was it; their high school life was finally over. They were heading into the real world now. Sakura's petite hand reached out to catch her cap as they came raining back down. Within a mere minute, what seemed like the whole student body came up to her in a group hug.

"We're going to miss you Sakura-kaasan!"

Sakura couldn't help but smile at her renowned nickname; she was the girl that everyone came to for help from boys to girls, it didn't matter. They came to her with their issues about friends, girl problems, crushes, tutoring, issues at home, fashion 911, or just to hang out. She was their "mom," and she was going to miss it after today because once she left this ceremony, she was leaving Suna right after.

"I'm going to miss you too." Sakura sniffed but put on a smile nevertheless.

"Even if we're a thousand miles apart, we still want to keep in contact. It doesn't matter; we'll promise to send you emails daily!" One of the girls commented, tears streaming down her face.

"And Sakura-chan, if there's a boy out there that's bothering you or breaks your heart, give us a call and we'll be there." The former football captain winked and the senior varsity athletes behind him nodded.

The school's biggest nerd came up and handed her a basket filled with cans of Arizona Tea. "Remember to drink your Arizona Tea, Sakura-chan!"

Now this caused everyone to laugh. If anyone knew Sakura like her classmates did, she was addicted to the stuff. What can you say; it's good. "Aww thanks guys, and I'll keep those things in mind, and I'll promise to keep in contact," Sakura thanked them.

The parents watched as their kids exchanged emails and numbers while they took turn taking pictures with their "mom."

"They grow up so fast!" Ms. Yamanaka wailed into her husband's shoulder.

"They sure do. It was just like yesterday when we enrolled Sakura into Kindergarten," Sakura's parents nodded. "Time just seemed to fly by so fast. She actually proved it to us, Kenji. She made it through high school, made it to valedictorian, and got accepted into Japan's number one school."

Kenji sighed, "I guess we were wrong, Kimiko. She's perfectly fine without us looking after her; our baby girl's finally growing up."

"Yeah."

* * *

The three girls bid their parents good bye not too long ago and decided to stop by to get something at the local café. Sakura took a sip of her Arizona tea and said, "We're finally no longer high school students."

"Y-yeah."

Long sighs escaped their lips.

"Jeez! What's up with the gloomy attitude, girls? We're heading off to college, baby! Where boys are, hot and sexy ones! Parties everyday! It's going to be heaven, I tell ya!" Ino exclaimed.

"Aren't you a bit upset about leaving your hometown, Ino-pig?" Sakura questioned through the rim of her drink sadly.

"Well of course I am but…oh Sakura, baby girl." Ino reached over and hugged the broken rosette. "Don't go crying because Naruto and Kiba didn't come, even though they promised they would."

Hinata nodded, rubbing the girl's back. "T-they're in the m-military. You can't blame t-them if t-they couldn't come. T-they can't leave if the c-country's in need. Or they've p-probably got a delayed flight; you n-never know."

"I-I guess you guys are right," Sakura sniffed. "Dammit, I hate it when I cry! It's so weak and pathetic!"

Ino and Hinata looked at their friend with a sad smile. The boys promised her before they left that they would come back and see her at the graduation. It would've been nice to have received some emails or anything from them, but all the girl got was silence. Being the worry wart Sakura was, she called them and instead some guy picked up. But one thing she got out of the call was that her boys were still alive and fighting.

"It's okay to cry once in a while, Forehead," Ino commented. "Holding it in doesn't help."

"I-Ino's right." Hinata handed Sakura another can of Arizona Tea.

"I know." Sakura wiped her eyes and looked at the can in front of her before bursting out laughing. The girls looked at her like she was on crack. "How many cans have I been through? Three? I better go to the ladies room before heading on that train."

Ino smiled. "She'll go now, but the moment we get on that train she's going to crack open another can, and she's going to need to go again. I swear, you have the bladder of a squirrel, Forehead."

"Do not!" Sakura playfully stuck her tongue out at the blonde.

"How much are you betting Hina? I'm betting ten," Ino questioned the timid girl beside her.

"T-twenty."

Sakura gasped, "Hinata! You too? What happened to me and you vs. Ino?"

"S-sorry, Sakura." Hinata poked her index fingers together with a small smile.

"You guys are unbelievable!" Sakura exclaimed before stomping her way towards the ladies room, leaving behind the laughing girls.

* * *

"You've. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me!" Sakura growled to no one other then herself as she watched her phone sink deeper and deeper into the pond. Let's just say, fate wasn't being so kind to her at the moment. Like Ino and Hinata predicted, the girl drained a whole can of Arizona Tea five minutes after the train left its station, thus making her have to make a beeline towards the ladies room again, which led her to get_ lost_. And now she dropped her phone in the pond.

Shoving her sleeves up to her elbow, Sakura dipped her hand into the water and reached for the phone. Groping for the familiar slick cover, Sakura pulled it out. Growling, Sakura took out the Ziploc bag filled with uncooked rain, being the smart girl she was. Sakura just knew she had to bring this; one because you never knew when you would drop your phone in a pond, right? Two, Ino always dropped her phone in some body of water. Dropping her phone in the rice, she zipped it up and pulled her luggage back to the train station.

Scanning the area, she found what she was looking for: the payphone. Walking over, she inserted the wanted amount of coins and pushed the seven-digit phone number she knew by heart and called the only person that wouldn't scream at her when they picked up the phone. "H-hello?"

"Hey, Hinata."

"S-Sakura!" Hinata exclaimed. "W-where are you?"

In the distant, she heard Ino's shrill voice call out, "Where the hell are you, Forehead? We've been searching everywhere for you!"

Suddenly, Sakura heard a guy shouting. "Blonde, will you shut up? Your voice is so annoying it's troublesome."

"What did you say?"

"I told you. Shut up."

"Why you son of a bitch!"

"I-Ino, d-don't!"

If Sakura was in a different situation she would have busted out laughing, but she only smiled at her best friend's shouting.

"Hey! Break it up! What's going on here?"

"She attacked me."

"Well he offended me!"

"Well we're taking you to the police station."

"What? No! Hinata!"

"What?"

"You girl, yes you. Shut off that phone, you're coming to the station too!"

"M-me?" The next thing Sakura heard was Ino shouting for poor little Hinata to wait up as they hulled them to the station. The line clicked and silence greeted her.

* * *

Her feet dragged against the cement, with her small suitcase rolling lazily behind. Pulling it up against the railing, Sakura sat down on it sighing in frustration. She leaned back against the metal handle of her suitcase. Unzipping her bag, she dug around for her bottle of Arizona Tea. The bottle of ginseng and honey was just inside...her...

"_I'm out of Arizona Tea!" _Sakura shrieked in horror before muttering, "This can't be happening, this cannot be happening!" Sakura began pawing through her belongings and came to a realization that was a fact. "I'm...out of Arizona Tea."

Sakura lowered her head. What a day. She got lost, her phone died in a pond, her friends were arrested for Kami knows what, she was stuck in a city not knowing a single thing, she was out of Arizona Tea, and her boys stood her up. She slumped down, exhausted from everything- school, graduation, traveling, and now this.

The dam finally burst; she had, once again, reached her breaking point. Sakura broke down into tears in to the middle of the city by the railing that separated her from the sea.

She didn't know how long it was, but she knew she was crying for a while now. She could just tell by the way her eyes stung and her eye lids were heavy and puffy. In spite of her beauty, with her agreeing with it that she was pretty, when it came to crying, she was a hot mess. And not in the good way either. Her nose would get red, and her eyes would get pink and puffy; it was ugly.

Out of the blue, Sakura felt a cap being placed upon her head. Then it was tapped downwards to cover her tear-stained face. "Hn, some girls think that crying makes them look pretty and charming. But honestly, it makes them look ugly."

Sakura sniffed, tears stilling cascading down her ivory cheeks.

"In other words, stop crying."

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**{A/N}: **Well that's the first chapter of my second fanfic! Hope you guys like it! Follow me on **tumblr **for previews and updates! And if you're a non-member add some sort of name at the bottom of the review so I can thank you at the bottom Now you guys know the drill, the little grey box at the bottom is just waiting for your review!

~MusicLover2010


	2. Chapter 2

_**Finding Her Fairytale**_

_**Chapter Two**_

**_Just read, enjoy, have a good laugh or two, let a tear slip here and there, get mad at cliffhangers or late updates, and review. Even if it's a one word, review._**

**_Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!_**

* * *

Her suitcase rolled close behind her as the sound of the black wheels hitting the cobblestone road echoed in the surprisingly silent park. Sakura took the palmed of her hands and roughly wiped away the tears on her cheeks. Up ahead was supposedly her "fairy godmother." Now, the young man that came to her rescue wouldn't agreed to that but Sakura had different ideas._ 'I mean come on, who's that one person in every fairy-tale that comes and tells her to wipe away those tears? Well duh, the fairy godmother! ...he's not exactly one...but I'll take it. And that's how desperate I am.'_

Being the fallow minded girl she was, Sakura looked ahead of her to find the young man but he was nowhere in sight. "What the hell? Hey jerk, you call that being a fairy godmother?" Sakura shouted her anger to no one in general. Looking around fanatically, she saw that he was truly gone. Sighing, Sakura headed over to the little park bench on the side of the road and plopped right down. She couldn't help but let her vision become blurry. Some bitch she was right now... "Seriously Sakura? The guy was just being nice and you just had to go and insult him like that. And this is why you're still single."

The rosette bent over and propped her elbows upon her suitcase and rested her chin on her palms._ 'But then...he could also be a rapist or serial killer?'_ With the last thought on her mind, the girl couldn't help but feel a tad bit tired.

* * *

_"We'll be arriving in Konohagakure shortly. We'll be arriving in Konohagakure shortly."_

_'Huh, Konoha? Capital city?'_ Sakura forced herself to open her eyes. To be quite honest, she was shocked to find herself sitting on a metro bus. Taking a glance out of the window, she realized that it had to be somewhere late in the afternoon for the sun was beginning to set in the distance. It was the turning the sky into a beautiful red orange while dark shades of blue melted into the warm colors as night was about to descend on the city of Konohagkure. As she looked into the window, she also saw her own reflection. It wasn't the slightly smeared makeup and messy hair that caught her attention but the blindly, bright colored post it note stuck to the white military cap upon her head.

She removed the cap and flipped it over, pulling the note off, it read:

_ 'Hn, Welcome to the Joy Bus of Konohagakure. Just one ride on this bus, and you'll be back to your crazy, annoying self again. The earth is round, so no matter how far you go... just like the route bus, you'll always come back to where you started. By the time, you come back to the original stop, your apartment is right down the street. College campus is about five blocks away. ~Your's truly, Fairy Godmother'_

The little note brought a smile to her lips without a second thought. Her "fairy godmother" might have been a total jerk but he had charms and just that spark of bittersweet kindness. But it was enough to make her day, even after the chaotic events that Kami decided to rain on her.

_"We've arrived at Konohagakure's. Welcome to..."_ The driver's voice shook Sakura out of her thoughts as he announced that they had arrived at their destination. Gathering all of her belongings, Sakura proceeded to get off the bus. Her "fairy godmother" watched the pink haired girl hop off the bus with a smirk on his face.

Following the directions her "fairy godmother" gave her, she stopped at the intersection and began walking five blocks up north. Bright, emerald eyes scanned her surroundings for the name of her new apartment. Right in front of her was her new home. Entering the apartment complex, she headed straight for the girl typing furiously on her keyboard. "Um, excuse me? I'm a student at Konoha State, and I have an apartment here."

Not even sparring a single glance at Sakura, she asked, "Name?"

"Haruno Sakura."

The girl nodded before turning around and quickly grabbing a key from the slots in the back and tossed it at Sakura. "Enjoy your stay."

Sakura stood there for a second and blinked at the girl's actions before rolling her suitcase over to the elevator. The doors opened with a _'ding'_. Stepping inside, Sakura pushed the 27th floor.

She was practically buzzing with excitement as the elevator moved higher and higher. All she wanted to do was get into their apartment, take a long shower, and go to sleep. Sakura put the key into the lock and twisted the nob. As she entered into the apartment, the sound of poppers filled the air for a second before streamers and confetti rained down on her. "Hey new roomies!- I thought there were three total."

The smile on the brunette's face dropped as she realized that there was only one girl standing in the doorway verses three. "Ummm...where are the other two?"

"Well...you see," Sakura said sheepishly. "What had happen was...they got in trouble somehow at the train station while I was lost. And now, they're at the police station. Which I have no clue where."

"Got ya... Hi! I'm Tenten. And don't just stand there! Come in!" Tenten moved out of the way and motioned the girl to enter in. "Considering your hair color, I'm assuming that you're Haruno Sakura?"

Sakura stepped inside with her suitcase rolling behind her and took her shoes off, placing it along the wall by the door. With a smile, she nodded, "It's nice to meet you."

Tenten beckoned her to take a seat on the one of the barstool. Opening the fridge, she grabbed herself a can of tea, "Arizona tea Sakura?"

At the mentioning of the favorable drink, Sakura emerald eyes lit up. "Yes, please." Her voice held the desperation, a need of the drink. Like an alcoholic without their alcohol. "Thank goodness. So you wouldn't mind having a roomate that's addicted to Arizona tea would you?"

A easy,carefree laugh escaped the brunette's lips. "Not a problem as long as there's always one left for me too."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh along with the girl. "Sounds like a deal."

"About these friends of yours...shouldn't we go and bail them out?"

* * *

"Miss Yamanaka, you are aware of why you're being held here correct?"

Ino folded her arms across her chest and huffed. "Yes, but can't I leave now? The real troublemaker here is that lazy ass over there!" The blond sent an accusing glare at the pineapple headed boy lounging on the plastic chairs. "He was the one that started! I was just minding my own business when he had to be nosy and interfere!"

"Miss, I really am losing my patients with you." The quite young officer said. "And you may leave after four hours. But first we need you and your friend to answer some questions-."

"I already told you! I don't know and I don't care! Just let me and Hinata get the hell out of here!" Ino shouted. "All I know is that we got lost from our other friend at the train station and she called us. Then all of a sudden, the stupid pineapple head over there decided to nosy into our business. So I only yelled back in defense. Now can we go?"

"But you seemed to have one thing missing. You threaten and attacked him right afterwards."

"Yeah, in self defense."

The officer let out a dreary sigh. "I'm sorry miss, but you and your friend are going to have to stay here until your probation is done." He got up and took the two girls by the arms and lead them down one of the hallways. Turning at a sharp corner, he opened the cell's door and pushed them inside. Before the girls can even process what happened, he twisted the key and locked them in their death cage. "Now, your probation starts. Only four hours left to go girls."

"B-but..." Hinata's words died in her throat as he began to walk away. "I d-didn't do a-anything."

"But your idiotic blond friend did, what a drag." A voice spoke to them from the other cell right next to them.

"Hey pineapple head, you better shut that trap of yours better I shut it for you!" Ino shouted angrily. "The nerves of this guy. How dare he blame it on me!"

"And she still doesn't understand. Troublesome."

"Will you just shut it?"

Empty silence enveloped the threesome as they listen to the ticking of each second that passed by. As the minutes turned into half and hour then an hour, poor little Hinata fell asleep. Her head rolled onto Ino's shoulder, where it remained for the rest of the time.

"The name's Nara Shikamara."

"Huh?" Ino blinked.

"The name's Nara Shikamara." The boy repeated himself.

"Yamanaka Ino."

"So...what's your favorite color?"

Ino raised an eyebrow at the ridiculously innocent but incredibly stupid question. But either way, she answered him, "Purple."

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me...court?" Sakura questioned through the telephone. "Oh, for Kami's sake, what the hell did you do Ino? We're not talking about some four hours probation anymore, we're talking about going to court in a city that we've barely been in for 24 hours!"

"Hey, it's not my fault the minster cop here, had his panties in a twist!"

"Ino, where's Hinata?"

"She's in an interview with minster cop."

Sakura shook her head in a sad manner, the shy heiress was not going to last long in there.

* * *

Hinata began to rub her sweaty palms on the fabric of her pants as she began have what felt like an anxiety attack. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage, as if any second now it could burst out. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and the handle turned downwards causing the girl's breath to stop all together. What she didn't expect was to see the one person that she haven't seen in years.

"Hey Hinata-chan, how's it going?" He casually pulled out the chair from behind the table. It dragged across the tiled floor with a screech. Sitting down, his bright cerulean eyes stared at her every move. Each little fidget or tremble, he seemed to be able to take acknowledge of.

Taking a shaky breath, Hinata licked her chapped lips before opening her mouth. "Are y-you i-interviewing me?"

"Yes m'am, I am." He replied back with tip of his military cap. "But, knowing you girls. Ino probably started a unless agreement with a somewhat innocent bystander and some random cop with his panties in a twist decided to throw you guys in the dudgeon just for heck of it. So what's the point of interviewing you, you all were innocent from the beginning to begin with. Now isn't that right?"

Hinata giggled but nodded.

The blond sneaked a glance at the time, smiling, he turned towards Hinata. "You in for some ramen Hinata-chan? We still have 30 minutes left."

"S-sure Naruto-kun."

* * *

**{A/N}**: Ahhh...the said "fairy godmother" is still a mystery to us and Sakura. Ohhh a bit of some cliffhangers in between each setting :) Well there's the second chapter since forever...sorry guys! I'll try to update one of my stories every weekend if possible. As for **TGNISH**, sorry again! My internet was acting up and I couldn't get anything done. This one's a little short but I promise the next one will be longer! Now you guys know what to do, review! The more reviews, the quicker I'll update :)

**{Thanks to}: SkeleTonQueeN06, E person. Myst-Escape, BlackPoppy. 0, iloveuboy29, Samoan123, JaggerMania, Reaching-Wings, EdwardsMin4-Eva, SasuSaku-Softball-Vicki, AyaArmyLove, cHaSiNg PaPeR bUtTeRfLiEs, Rikato Tojidofukuto, MSYCPJFADC, and Animefangirl95.**

**~MusicLover2010**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Finding Her Fairytale**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Just read, enjoy, have a good laugh or two, let a tear slip here and there, get mad at cliffhangers or late updates, and review. Even if it's a one word, review.**_

_**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**_

* * *

_**N**_aruto leaned back in his chair with a satisfied sigh escaping his lips as he rested his hands behind his head. "Man, that was the best ramen I've had since forever! While we were on missions, the only ramen I got was some copy cat noodle trying to be Ichiraku ramen." Glancing at the shy Hyuuga heiress across from him, Naruto watched as her thin fingers, wrapped around the pair of chopstick, began to move the noddles from side to side in her bowl. Her midnight bangs acted as a curtain, shielding her beautiful lavender eyes from the rest of the world. "Hey, Hinata-chan are you alright?"

Lifting her head up just slightly, enough to meet his gaze, Hinata gave him a small smile. "Yeah. Everything's fine, nothing's wrong." But Hinata knew that she was just lying, not only to Naruto but to herself too. Everything wasn't find, in fact, nothing was right. Spending no more than 24 hours in the city, more things have happened to her verse her whole senior year combined. "...Actually...nothing's okay, everything is just...totally wrong."

Poking her index fingers together, Hinata debated whether to demand Naruto's answer for not being there or let him explain himself.

As if he read her mind, Naruto's happy grin turned upside down. "The reason I couldn't be there was...was because..." he began. In the end the boy just settled for a dry, bitter laugh. Shaking his head, "I could be coming up with a million excuses but they wouldn't mean shit. To be honest, I...we forgot about everything we left behind."

Hinata knew the moment of disappointment was coming but she still couldn't brace herself for the cold, hard truth that was hurled her way.

"At first, going into the military seemed like nothing. We'll be back in no time with you girls and very thing will be all dandy. But that wasn't how reality wanted it. You girls were there in our minds but with every ticking second like a timed bomb, it began to slip like sand in an hourglass until there was nothing. Be didn't mean or want it to happen but it just did...our line of duty and fighting with our comrades just suddenly became the most important thing in our lives..."

Although she understand every word Naruto was trying to say and explain, Hinata had enough for one day. She didn't want to hear one more word. Hinata nodded solemnly and walked out. The prickling sensation of new tears made her eyes sting, her throat closed tight as her mouth was suddenly dry. Hinata closed her eyes, making an attempt to calm herself down and take control of her near to exploding dam. Letting a shaky sigh escape, Hinata wrapped her cardigan tighter around her body as an unexpected breeze passed by.

From inside the warm cafe, Naruto watched with sad blue eyes as the girl began making her journey out into the sunny afternoon. Her figure becoming a little shadow with every step of the way until she disappeared into the darken skies of the near night.

* * *

Shikamaru had no idea how he ended up in this position, but one thing he did know was that it was the blond bitch that went by the name of Yamanaka Ino's fault. "Hold the mirror lower!"

He couldn't help but wince as her shrill voice bursted his eardrums. "Jesus women, I'm right here."

Ino merely rolled her pretty baby blue eyes as she went back to swiping another coat of mascara onto her lashes. Closing the tube, she dropped it in her bag and pulled out another.

"Don't you think that's enough mascara to last you the whole day? Why so troublesome?"

"Well good sir, my minimum is five tubes of mascara. So feel lucky that I'm only applying three." Ino pouted in a mocking manner.

Shikamaru couldn't help but stare at her red lips, pouted in such a manner that would make a grown man melt. Her bottom lip was jutted out cutely as she fluttered her lashes.

"Is there something in your eyes?" He joked. "It seems like you're blinking a lot."

All he heard was a sneer as pain shot through his arm. Realizing that the blond had hit him, Shikamaru began nursing his bruise and let out a string of curses. "Dammit Women!"

* * *

"Fuck my life..." Sakura let her "normally large" forehead hit her desk. Peeking a glance at the small digital clock, it read 2:51...in the morning. "Awesome, in five hours this stupid god damn paper is due and it is far from done. Just great."

She reached for her Arizona, twisting the cap open, Sakura waited for the cool liquid sensation of the drink to quench her thirst. But instead nothing came. Chucking the bottle perfectly into the trash, the rosette got up and walked to her mini fridge. Upon opening the door, a rainbow practically spewed out. Shades of greens, reds, and blues greeted her sight at the ungodly hour. Taking one out of random she quaffed down the cool liquid. Looking back at her desk, Sakura barely managed to suppress the loud groan that came. Her once tidy desk looked like a tornado passed through and left a mess in its path. Paper was littered everywhere, from the desk where a water fall fell down to the ground where it made a puddle of white.

Running a tired hand through her pink locks, Sakura yawned for what seemed like the umpteenth time. It's been no more then three months into the fall semester and she was already ready to give up. To top the stress load off, KSU's annual Fall Formal was around the corner.

Slumping back into her chair, Sakura began tackling the due assignment. "Alright, let's just get this the hell out of the way and done. I want my sleep."

* * *

Still bordering on the verge of sleep, Sakura spooned her cereal into her mouth lazily. Slowly, she couldn't help but doze off for a minute or two. However, a sudden clash echoed through the apartment as hushed fierce whispers came to her ears. Alarms were ringing in her head telling her that she needed to get herself out of dreamland and find out what's the commotion is all about. Her instincts kicked in full mode as her guard rose.

Sakura cautiously grabbed the nearest object she got her hands on and placed it in front of her like a weapon. The clatter increased as she slowly made her way down the hallway. Pressing her back against the wall, she rounded the corner in a sneakily manner. Upon arriving outside the living room, someone was telling everyone to shush and shut up. Rolling her shoulders, Sakura entered the dark room, anxiety pumped through her veins. Groping the wall for the light switch, she flicked it on.

Next thing she knew, she was swinging the frying pan blindly at the two boys in front of her. Their shouts of surprises were swallowed by shock exclaims and painful groans.

"Jesus Sakura," Kiba was the first one to speak up after rolling on the floor in pain. "A frying pan? Really?"

Sakura sighed as she tried to calm her speeding heart. Taking him by the arm, the rosette helped him to the sectional. "Well sorry sir, but it's your fault for breaking and entering at this hour in the morning."

"Sakura-chan, I think you broke some of my teeth!" Naruto winced as he held his now bruising cheek.

"Oh, quit being a baby Naruto."

"I'll quit being a baby after I get a pack of ice and ramen!"

"God dammit Naruto, do you have to yell?" Sakura hissed. "I'm right next to you!"

The poor blond cowered in fear, sinking deeper into his seat as he saw the small rosette fumed in anger. Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose. Sighing, Sakura asked, "Why are you guys here?"

"...uh...we were planning a surprise party!"

"None of the girls have birthdays this month, Naruto. Not even me."

"Well..."

"Naruto, just get out."

"But Sakur-chan!" Naruto whined.

"Get out. You know we don't want you here."

"Sakura-chan! I know we made a big mistake when we forgot to fly back for the graduation but you have to understand! We're soldiers, we can't abandon our duty! We're were sworn into oath!"

"He's right Sakura, the country is before everything. Even our lives." Kiba interjected.

"Naruto, just stop." Sakura held her hand up, signaling them to shush. "Yes, you were sworn into oath to protect the country. Yes, we understand that the line of duty is harsh and comes first. Forgetting our graduation was okay, you had to fight. We're happy that you're back."

Naruto grinned, "See! I knew you would understand Sakura-chan!"

"But," Sakura added sadly, "you couldn't have called or write us a letter once? Not even one for the pass, oh I don't know, four years?"

The grin on Naruto's face faltered at her comment. As much as it hurt her to see him sad, she needed to let him know. The truth hurts.

"Did you even know what it felt like? Hmm? Every Christmas, we would sit at home by the phone and wait for that phone call that we knew that we would never get. We didn't go out and enjoy the night like everyone else did because we were waiting for you two to call." Sakura bit her bottom lip as the memories came flooding back. She could just feel the cold air nipping at her nose as her and the girls waited around the phone on Christmas night. And the rush of disappoint as she watched the other two fall asleep after waiting so long with no result. "It hurt alright. Funny thing was, the only time we got a phone call about you guys was when your Captain decided to called the families of his soldiers to give some news about their loves ones."

"Wait," Naruto was speechless. "The Bastard called you?"

Sakura's anger ignited as Naruto was only worrying about the total opposite of what she was trying to tell them. Grabbing them both by their forearms, she proceeded to roughly throw them out of the apartment without hearing out another word from them. After slamming the door in their faces, Sakura let out a scream of frustration. "The nerves of those assholes!"

Running of footsteps were heard as Ino came rushing out armed with a baseball bat while Hinata and Tenrten were at her tail. "What happened? Was there a robber? Rapist?" Ino questioned. The blond had worry etched on the little pretty face of hers, not a speck of make up was on. Still in her sweats and t-shirt, she raised an eyebrow in Sakura's direction.

"Nothing." Sakura replied. "Just needed to get rid of some rats."

Hinata nodded in an understanding manner as she frowned. Meanwhile, Ino shrieked. "Rats? Where?"

The girls couldn't help but burst out laughing at the blond's denseness. "What?"

"Oh honey," Tenten wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she laughed. "It's nothing."

Laughing at the blond's confused face, Sakura checked the time. "We have like 15 minutes before we leave. So you girls better hustle, especially you Ino."

"Hey!" Ino exclaimed, her hands resting on her hips. "Beauty is not something you can wake up every morning too girly. It takes time and effort."

"Mostly time." Sakura scoffed. "If that's the cost of beauty, I don't want it."

"B-Beauty isn't what on the o-outside, it's what's inside." Hinata commented as she nervously twirled a lock of hair around her index finger. "Like Sakura, she still gets boys c-chasing after her and s-she barely takes any time on her a-appearance..."

"True," Ino nodded in agreement. "But the little pink bitch is fucking gorgeous."

Before anyone can comprehend what the blond had just say, Ino raced out of the room and ran straight into her room.

"That girl...has to be the first that can comment someone and still insult them at the same time without it being noticeable."

"Hmmm."

* * *

"Sakura," Ino bumped her shoulders into the rosette's. Motioning her head in the other direction, "So how about those cuties? Hmm?"

Sakura lifted her head from her book and turned her attention towards the group of boys laughing. Studying them intently, Sakura shrugged. "Ehh...they're alright. I think they're more of your type Pig. Loud, blond, tall, blue eyes, football jocks, and having no brain cells what so ever.""

"I guess you're right - Hey!" Ino whipped her head around and glared at the laughing girl at her side. "That was mean Sakura. You're such a jerk, you big meanie."

Sakura smiled, "So I've heard."

"But come on, aren't they a bit attractive to you hon?" Suddenly, Ino gasped, "Or wait. Are you going lesbian on me?"

Playfully shoving Ino by the shoulders, Sakura shook her head and winked. "That's right, I have hots for you baby."

"Aww, you shouldn't cause I'm straight." Ino joked.

"I love you." Sakura laughed as she popped a piece of laffy taffy into her mouth. And began smacking on it in an annoying manner by accident. _'Smack.'_

"Love you too hon." _'Smack.'_

_'Smack.' 'Smack.'_

_'Smack.' 'Smack.'_

"Hon, would you quit it?" _'Smack.' 'Smack.'_

"I'm serious Sakura, it's starting to get on my nerves."_  
_

_'Smack.'_ _'Smack.'_

"Sakura! Stop it!"

Sniffling her laugh, Sakura swallowed her sugary sweet. "Alright, alright. I'm stopping."

"Good."

_'Smack.'_

"Sak-ura..." Ino growled as she heard the familiar sound. Glaring at Sakura, she realized that the smacking wasn't coming from the rosette but elsewhere. Whipping her head back and forth, she was surprised to discover that it came from the boy besides her, Shikamaru. What was even more surprising was that he was dressed from head to toe in an military unifrom. "Shikamaru?"

Suddenly Sakura started to laugh hysterically, "Hmmm. That's the sound you two were making last night I assume ne?"

"S-Sakura!" Ino stuttered as her face began turning different shades of red.

"Hmm? It's alright girly, your sexual active life is safe with me." Smirking, Sakura looked over at Shikamaru who was laying his head on Ino's lap as he laid on the bench. "Shikamaru, don't be doing anything naughty tonight. Ino can't be seen walking with a limp in that gorgeous dress of hers."

Opening his eyes, Shikamaru glared at the laughing rosette. "Sakura...just get out of here."

Holding her hands up, "Alright, alright. I'll leave you two love birds alone to do some smacking."

"Sakura!"

* * *

Fall Formal finally came that night, Ino just like every girl, spent the whole day getting a manicure, pedicure, and her hair done.

Zipping Ino up, Sakura took at step back to examine her best friend, along with the other girls. "You girls look gorgeous."

"Same could be said to you darling." Tenten commented as Sakura did a spin, her pure white dress flowing around her.

"Thanks." Taking the camera from Hinata's hand, Sakura volunteered to take pictures fro everyone. "Alright smile!"

After what seemed like an hour, everyone's pictures were finally done. Except for Sakura that is. Seeing the rosette's disappointed expression, Ino excused herself from the girls and their dates and walked over to the wilted blossom. "Hey, where's Guregori? Wasn't he suppose to come and pick you up for dinner before the dance?"

"Yeah." Sakura nodded solemnly before giving Ino a weak smile. "He's probably just late, you know who the traffic is today. Remember this morning?"

"Sitting in our car for more than an hour in one place yeah, I remember. But now it shouldn't be that bad. I mean the girls' date came, none of them had a problem with traffic." Ino pointed out. "Are you sure he didn't like...forget?"

"I doubt it Ino, Fall Formal has been the hot topic around here. Like the topic of life for the past month."

"True."

"See there's nothing to worry about." Sakura laughed half-heartily as she began fumbling with the clasp of her clutch.

"Do you want to catch a ride with us?" Ino suggested. "There's still plenty of room."

"Oh no, it's alright. He'll come."

Ino looked at Sakura, smiling sadly at the way her best friend was trying to hold herself together but was slowly fall apart. "Well...if you say so..."

"Haha, don't worry about me Pig. So get with that boy of yours and start partying." Sakura pushed the blond out of the door along with the others. "Stop worrying about me and have some fun. Guregori will come eventually. Plus, I'm a big girl. I think I can handle myself for a few minutes before my date comes."

Shutting the door behind the happy party, Sakura blew a raspberry as she took in a deep breath and letting it go. Sakura leanned against the door and sighed. "Where could he be? The dance is about to start." Shaking her head, Sakura settled for the thought that he's probably stuck in traffic somewhere. Pushing herself from the cold, wooden door Sakura took a seat on their white leather sectional. Kicking her heels off to the side, Sakura cuddled under the warmth of the blanket. Glancing at the clock, she decided to relax and wait.

As seconds turned into minutes, eventually an hour had passed.

"Where the hell is that bastard." Sakura grumbled as she checked her phone for any missed calls or messages. But she found none. "That's it. Since he's not gonna come and pick me up like a gentleman, I'll go there myself."

* * *

Each step of the way, the clicking of her heels against the marble floor echoed throughout the hall. Little white lights shone on the ceiling like diamonds as they reflected off the floors, making it seem like Sakura was walking on the night sky. Beautiful bouquets of roses lined the hallway before climbing their way up the walls. Theater red curtains draped across the windows, shielding the moonlight from one's sight. For the lights shinning inside had won over the moon's beauty. To say that the hall wasn't beautiful would have been a lie. It was gorgeous.

Averting her attention from the decor, Sakura moved to find her date among the crowd of university students partying the night away. Excusing herself as she squeezed in between a couple that was in a heated argument, Sakura walked out into the balcony. She breathed in the cool autumn air and sighed. Guregori was nowhere to be founded. Pouting, Sakura turned around and took in the scenery.

Suddenly though, Sakura ears managed to pick up an awfully familiar voice. _'Guregori?' _Peeking over the marble railing, she spotted his messy blond locks. Smiling, Sakura quickly descended the stairs but stopped abruptly as shrill feminine voice spoke up.

"Aren't you suppose to be with the pink haired girl with the abnormally large forehead?"

_'Hey there girly! My forehead isn't that big!'_

"No."_  
_

His answered shocked her. _'No? What does he mean no?'_

"What do you mean?"_  
_

Sakura heard him sighed as he chuckled right afterwards. "The only reason I asked her was because it was a bet among the football players. It's a tradition each year that the guys would pick the most...how would I say this... inexperienced girl in the dating category to Fall Formal. Usually it's the most unattractive girl but in her case...she's quite attractive but she kind of lacks in the department of being sexy. She's just a bit too innocent. But then, her oddly colored hair and overly large forehead kind of shadows her prettiness."

"You're a really big bastard you know?" Sakura spat out. "To think you were actually decent and likable."

His brown eyes widen at the sight of Sakura descending the staircase. "..."

"Speechless Guregori?" Sakura mocked.

"..."

"Hey," the girl standing beside Guregori made an appearance. She was the average gal, not too ugly but not too pretty either. "I don't like your attitude _princess_. It's not my fault you couldn't find a date. No need to get your panties in a twist."

Sakura couldn't believe that the girl had the nerves to say such a thing.

"If you want a date, why don't you check out the animal farm."

Guregori took the girl by the arm and yanked her back. "Hey. That wasn't necessary."

"Are you seriously siding with the pink troll?"

"No. She's just not worth the time, that's all I'm saying."

His commented hit her hard. "Not worth the time? Bullshit. That surely didn't stop you from trying to get into my pants that night. And you know what I'm saying about asshole." Turning her glare over to the girl, Sakura shook her head. "Animal farm? Pink troll? Honey, you're a hybrid of both along with the genes of an ogre."

Guregori bit back a chuckle, while the girl had her mouth hanging wide open. Sakura walked over to her and tapped her mouth shut. "Wouldn't want to catch any flies now would you? Although they might be appetizing to your taste."

* * *

"Stupid son of a bitch. Argh!" Sakura plopped down onto the soft grass as burning hot anger crawled through every inch of her body. "The bastard deserves to rot in hell. And don't even get me started with the girl!"

After many more colorful words escaped her mouth, from cursing Guregori's ancestors to sending him to the pits of hell, Sakura decided to settle with bawling her eyes out.

"Am I really that bad?" Sakura wheezed. "So bad that someone would go after an animal farm troll instead?"

A slimy, wet frog jumped out of the small pond onto the patch of grass in front of her. Sakura stared at the buggy eyed creature in front of her. For other girls, they would've ran away screaming like chickens with their heads cut off. "Hmmm...if I kiss you, would you become a prince and take me away to my happily ever after?"

She knew it was a silly question but she couldn't help but take a moment to ponder the thoughts of it. It would have been a fairy-tale dream come true.

Suddenly, a pair of newly polished black shoes came into her view. "Worth a shot, considering you're quite ugly."

* * *

**{A/N}**: MERRY CHRISTMAS! Sigh...yes I understand...I suck at updating... Sorry! But it's winter break so updates should be coming along nicely :) Review?

**{Thanks to}: x-JanoskiansBabey-x, Rikato Tojidofukuto, Raikiri80, xMekachi. Firefly24kk , Lilac Queen, carlaivy, KillsMheSlowly, JaggerMania, 7TeamSeven7, and SkeleTonQueeN06.**

**~KP**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Finding Her Fairytale**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Just read, enjoy, have a good laugh or two, let a tear slip here and there, get mad at cliffhangers or late updates, and review. Even if it's a one word, review.**_

_**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**_

* * *

Before Sakura can even look up at the sudden new stranger, a cap was placed on her head, blocking her view. The only thing she caught of the stranger was his dark raven hair. "Hey!" Sakura tried taking the military cap off but a hand stopped her.

"Hn." She heard the male clear his throat. "Crying is very unattractive."

"What?" Sakura voice cracked as she to failed to maintain control of her emotions. "Are you even human? When you see a girl crying her heart out, you're suppose to comfort her not insult her, you emo jerk!"

"Hn."

"Do you want to know the trick?" Sakura smiled half-heartily. She shook her head sadly. "Lend her a shoulder to cry on. And here's the catch..."

"..."

"...don't insult her."

"Hn." Sakura could hear a smile through his grunt before finding herself falling into a warm, strong embrace. "Shut up and just cry. You're annoying."

She didn't know how it worked, but she smiled into his shoulder and cried the rest of her heart out. Maybe it was his velvety voice or the way he held in her in a protective manner. Sakura didn't know, but there was something about his presence that screamed safe and comforting. He could have been a serial killer or rapist but at the moment she didn't care. She didn't have the energy to scream or run away. All Sakura had the strength to do was cry, as pathetic as it sounded, it was the only thing she could do.

After what seemed like a millennium had passed, Sakura withdrew herself and wiped away her tears. Inhaling a deep breath, she released it by blowing a raspberry. Laughing lightly, Sakura thanked the male stranger. "Ummm...thank you. And sorry that you had to a spend you night listening to me babbling and crying about my life issues."

"Hn."

Sakura rolled her eyes at his simple reply. Either way, Sakura began to lift the cap off her head to see her savior. "And who may be my knight in shining armor?"

"Don't." Once again a strong calloused hand stopped her. He tapped the cap three times, making the end of it touch her nose. "You'll figure out who I am eventually."

"What do you mean?" Sakura frowned. "Can't I at least get your name?"

"Hn."

The stranger's blunt reply began to get under her skin. "Hey mister, would it hurt to answer in full sentences or at least words?"

"Yes."

"Why, will you look at that." Sakura clapped. "See. That wasn't so hard was it?"

The stranger scoffed at her sarcasm. Suddenly though, he took her hand and placed a soft, navy colored handkerchief into her open palm. "Here. Wipe that snot running down your face."

"It's called tears, stupid."

"Whatever." He saw Sakura reaching for the cap and immediately said, "Don't take it off."

"Okay, okay. Jeezle, I was just lifting it up a little." Sakura sniffed.

She wiped away her tears hastily. Handing him the handkerchief blindly, she said, "Here. Thanks."

"I'm over to your left." The male stated while Sakura blushed at her mistake. "And just keep it."

"It's yours through."

"It's covered in you snot though." He replied mockingly.

"True." Sakura nodded. Folding the piece of fabric in half and then in quarters, she held it in her hand.

Silence overcame the duo. Although silence has ever existed in the world; complete silence that it. The sounds of the beating heart, the sound of ones breathing would always intrude. But for the two, just standing there and feeling the breeze running through the trees, it was silent enough.

The sound of a nearby church bell striking midnight ripped through the night. Inside the hall, the chaperons and professors began ordering everyone out.

Sakura sighed, "Party's over. I should get going too. Us university kids have a curfew... Well thanks for listening."

"Aa."

"Hmm, I would say see you around but then... I don't have a fucking clue what you look like." Sakura laughed.

"Hn. You'll see me around." He said. "Hearing _of_ my me is a higher possibility though."

"Huh?"

"Just get going already Princess, your carriage is waiting."

"Oh yeah! The bus only runs until 12:30! Crap! Well bye!" Without another word, Sakura hiked up her dress and made a mad dash to the bus stop. Once she reached the gates, Sakura winced as she took off her heels before taking off again into the starry night smiling like a crazy idiot.

* * *

When Sakura came out of the bathroom drying her hair, Ino stopped her in the hallway. "Does some pizza sound good?"

"Yeah. If you want to gain five pounds for eating carbs after seven." Sakura commented with a small smile.

"I'm taking that as a yes." Ino punched in the pizza place's number.

Sakura just casually walked away but stopped, turning around she shouted, "Hey Pig, I want a whole pizza to myself!"

"Okay!" Ino shouted back and quietly mumbled, "And I'm the pig."

"I heard that!" Sakura laughed.

"Good!"

After the pizza was delivered, she joined the other girls by the TV. As she came in with a plate in hand, Hinata was dealing a deck of UNO cards. It may have been a child's game, but it was as sure hella fun. Not to mention intense.

"So w-who wants to s-start?" Hinata questioned.

"Alright, me." Tenten volunteered as she placed down a green four. "Hey Sakura, did Guergori ever come?"

Sakura wiggled her nose in digust at the mentioning of the boy's name. Taking a violent bite out of her pizza, she shook her head. "Not only did the bastard didn't show up, he went with another girl. Him asking me to the Fall Formal was just entertainment for the football team."

"Wait, hold up." Tenten paused and rolled her eyes. "You mean you were the bet of the football team's girl? You, seriously?"

"Exactly." Sakura said, putting down a plus 2 card. "Ino, plus two."

"Dammit! Jeez, I have like half the deck, Forehead!" Ino fanned out her deck. Drawing two cards, Ino returned her attention back to the conversation, "You're not that ugly."

The girls nodded.

"But single since forever and apparently lacking sexuality." Sakura huffed.

"Lacking sexuality? Girl, you're fucking sexy as hell!" Ino commented. "I would date you if I could."

"Don't go lesbian on me, honey."

"Oh shut up." Ino retorted. "But...I kind of see where the guys are coming from..."

"What do you mean, Pig?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. Now she was quite interested in Ino's answer.

"Well...you do have smallest cup size out of all of us." Ino pointed out as Hinata blushed tomato red while Tenten cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Okay...go on."

"You dress modestly. No v-necks or low cut tops ever. It's like you're totally against showing any skin whatso ever." Ino said. "You just dress cute that's all."

Sakura took a moment to take in the semi-new found information. She nodded, "True. But then that's me. Cute, pretty, sophisticated. I like to cover up. That's just who I am. And if that doesn't satisfy boys here, well too bad."

"That's the spirit!" Tenten clapped. "Sweats and hoodies are always there for you girl! There's just some moments or every moment where you're sexy and you know it. Except you're to lazy show it."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the brunette's comment. "Amen."

"Okay, now that that's over," Ino interrupted. "Are we going to play some UNO or what? Because Hinata...plus four and the color is blue!"

* * *

To say that Sakura didn't love working at the medical unit in the Shady Leaf Orphanage, would have been nothing but a big, fat lie. She loved it. Sometimes it even came past as an obsession, Sakura couldn't stand a day without being there. The smell of disinfectant may have not been a the best but she loved working there in her pink scrubs anyways.

She walked into one of her patient's room and lifted up the clipboard hanging by the little girl's bed. "Suki, you ready for your check-up?" Sakura smiled tenderly at the green eyed girl. For a girl at such a young age of barely five, she was diagnosed with leukemia.

Suki peeked from behind her pink blanket. "Do I have to get shots and have the mean lady take my blood?" She asked timidly. "It hurts."

"Nope, not today sweetheart." Sakura answered, her smile still present on her face. "No shots or blood. Just a regular check up."

Her answer didn't seem to satisfy Suki. Thinking for a moment, Sakura, "Hmm... If you're good, I'll make you my famous sundae."

"Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-sundae?"

Sakura nodded. "Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-sundae."

"Okay!" Suki exclaimed as she climbed off the bed with a bit of difficulty. Seeing this, Sakura walked over and hoisted her up out of bed and onto the floor. Straightening out the little girl's sundress, Sakura smiled and took her hand.

As they walked out into the hallway, the two encountered Tenten rolling a boy in a wheel chair. "Hey, Sakura!"

"Hey, Tenten." Sakura greeted her. Looking at the boy, she asked, "So Akio, how are you feeling?"

"A lot better since I passed chemo treatment and fought back. I get to go to the therapist!" Tenten-Nee-chan is going to teach me how to walk again!" Akio grinned from ear to ear as she ruffled his hair.

"Alright, you do just that. I bet you'll be up and running around in no time."

Akioo nodded happily. "Well, we better get going." Tenten said.

"I'll see you at lunch then, Tennie." Bidding their goodbyes, Sakura held Suki's hand and began walking.

Once they've arrived at the butterfly painted room, Suki climbed up the little stool by the infirmary bed and took a seat. Meanwhile, Sakura gathered all of the girl's files. Slipping her stethoscope into the pocket of her doctor's coat, she took the the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around Suki's arm. Pumping air into it, Sakura wrote down the information. "Blood pressure, good."

"Now for your heart," Sakura smiled. Taking out her stethoscope, she warmed it slightly in her hand before applying it underneath Suki's dress. "Can you take a deep breath for me?"

Suki did as she was told. Recording that down too, Sakura gathered up everything.

"Alright sweetie, let's go check your weight." Sakura told Suki. "Hinata is going to come in and do that okay?"

"The nurse with the really pretty long hair that wears the purple scrubs?" Suki questioned cutely as Sakura nodded.

As promised, Sakura and Suki were in the orphanage's kitchen making sundaes. Suki sprinkled some M&M's into her bowl before drowning it in chocolate syrup. The girl was a real sweet tooth. "Whipped cream?"

"On it." Sakura replied as she held the can of whipped cream like a gun. Pushing on the nozzle she swirled the cream into a mountain on top of the ice cream. "Done." Topping it off with a red, plumped cherry, she handed a spoon to Suki and one for herself. "And done."

Before Sakura could even take a scoop of her masterpiece, Tenten came in along with Hinata. "Okay, I feel you. Just leave me out like that."

Knowing that the brunette was joking, Sakura playfully shoved her by the shoulder. Pointing her spoon over her shoulder, "There's more in the freezer. Help yourselves."

Tenten smiled, "Well, don't mind that I do. Come on Hinata."

Sakura watched as the two girls disappeared into the back of the kitchen. As she scooped another bite, Tenten screamed, "Omg...It's Ice Cream Heaven!" Holding back her laughter, she smiled at Suki.

"Nee-chan, who are those people?" Suki asked suddenly.

Sakura looked in the direction that Sui was pointing. Standing just outside the kitchen were a group of men dressed in black. One of them was talking to Mrs. Kurenai, the caretaker of the orphanage, and after a few exchanges of words they looked over at her. She was taken aback at why she was the center of attention but in reality, the attention was focused on the little onyx-haired girl beside her.

Sakura watched as the men nodded before walking away with Mrs. Kurenai leading the way. But she didn't miss how his eyes never left hers as they retreated.

It was near the end of the day when she received a call of the orphanage, demanding her to come back for an issue. Sakura was royally pissed. She was about a second away from climbing into her heavenly bed and rest for the night when she was called. And it didn't help that Lee had somehow managed to be standing outside the apartment when she left. Ever since then, he's been hot on her tail. Luckily, she managed to stop him at a street crossing. The boy wasn't that bad but...come on, those eyebrows are kind of creepy...

Quickly dashing up the stairs, Sakura flipped through the file that was handed to her on the way entering the building. It was Suki's medical history. A smile graces her features at the sight of the little girl's picture on the right hand corner. During the mist of doing so, Sakura failed to acknowledge that she didn't step high enough to reach the next step. Thus, causing her to trip _up _the stairs, not down.

Sakura put her hands out in front of her as she hit the stairs.

"Hn. Aren't we graceful tonight, Princess."

The comment made her roll her eyes in annoyance. Huffing, Sakura replied, "Pshh...I was just doing a gravity check. Duh."

A small chuckle came from behind her. Ignoring the newcomer, Sakura proceeded to pick up the papers flying all around her like butterflies. Getting up, she brushed herself off and held her head high. With what's left of her dignity, Sakura took her final step up the stairs. Unfortunately, she failed to notice one important factor.

"You know...Cinderella left in a hurry and left her glass slipper behind." He began. "Meanwhile, you left in a hurry, tripped up a flight of stairs, and left your dirty sneaker. Totally smooth." Sarcasm laced every word that he spoke. What was an embarrassment to Sakura was clearly amusement to him.

Sakura sensed his presence coming up from behind her as his footsteps echoed in the room. Exhaling deeply, she spun on her heels and snatched her shoe out of his hand. She didn't bother to look at his face.

He smirked at the rosette's actions. "No thank you for your _fairy godmother_? Hn, I'm offended."

* * *

**{A/N}**: omgaoufgbobareb...I'm so tired... Before I was jamming to Maroon 5 but now..gosh I'm about to crash. Well you guys know what to do! **REVIEW! PLEASE?! **Jeezle...two updates of two different stories in two days..dang. I'm seriously the bomb! jk ;) Alright, goodnight from Ohio everyone! **REVIEW!**

******{Thanks to}: 24kk, Ruined Doll, tenzinw2, JaggerMania, jus4theheckofit98, OnlyForever17, Jodeist, and Aimii0. **

******~KP**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Finding Her Fairytale**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Just read, enjoy, have a good laugh or two, let a tear slip here and there, get mad at cliffhangers or late updates, and review. Even if it's a one word, review.**_

_**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**_

_**P. S: READ! When you get to Sasuke playing, I suggest that you go to Youtube and search "Married Life," Up. It's just something extra to set the mood and get a feel of it. Honestly, I'm obsessed with that song :) Love it!**_

* * *

Sakura stood there shell-shocked, her eyes widen as her jaw fell. She watched as he began to come towards her, he ascended the stairs, one step at a time until he reached her. Taking the dirty sneaker from out of her limp hand at her side, he knelt down on one knee. Then gently grasping her ankle, the dark-haired teen slid the shoe onto her foot. After securing her foot into the shoe, he took the two laces and looped them together, before tying it into a knot. In one fluid motion, he stood up and dusted off his pants. Smirking, he bowed. Extending his hand up the stairs, he said, "After you, _Princess_."

Quickly closing her gaping mouth, Sakura coughed as she picked up the last bits of her pride and ran up the stairs. _'Way to go, Sakura... Score one for totally making a hooligan out of yourself...' _Blushing furiously, the rosette kept her head low as she rushed to her destination.

"Hey," Sakura stopped in her tracks as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking at the hand, she saw the familiar looking military cuff of his uniform. Her eyes traveled up to meet his eyes, that was when she found herself staring into the richest colored onyx eyes she has ever laid eyes on. They were like two bottomless pits, devoid of any emotions. Yet, they were warm in an odd way.

Seeing that she was staring, Sakura averted her eyes down to the papers in his hands. Smacking herself mentally, she realized her mistake.

"Forgetting something?" He handed her the papers with a bit of amusement lingering at the end.

"Yeah." Sakura replied lamely. "Thanks."

"Hn." He grunted before making his way down the hall.

Sakura followed the teen, drumming her fingers against the papers. A blanket of silence covered the two, and it lasted for quite some time until Sakura began giggling. "You know... we always meet like this."

"Hn?"

"I mean, we always encounter each other during my embarrassing moments. Then you would try to comfort me half of the time but insult me the other half. How do you do that? I have no idea. And for some reason, silence seems to slip in and end it there." Sakura laughed. Smiling, she stopped and faced him. Putting her index finger on her chin, Sakura said, "Oh, I do recall that last time we met, you said that you would tell me your name... _later. _And I do believe that now is later."

His lips tilted up at the corner of his mouth, not into a smile, but a smirk. "Hn. Alright." Clearing his throat, he extended his hand for a formal handshake. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Grasping his rough, calloused hand, she shook it. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Egoistic-emo-jerk-who's-too-cool-to-speak-in-full-words. If you didn't happen to catch my name before, Haruno Sakura."

Sasuke's smirk widen at Sakura's comment. "Hn. You have some serious guts to be calling me that, Princess."

Sakura's smiled innocently. "Why, sir, I have no idea what you mean."

"Hn." He rolled his eyes at the rosette's sarcastic remark. "Better watch that mouth of yours, missy."

"Hmmm? It's not like you're the King."

"Maybe." Sasuke shrugged. "But true."

"Exactly." Sakura spun on her heels and resumed walking. Reaching her destination, Sakura gripped the metal handle and opened the door.

As she entered, she noticed three important key factors. One, Sasuke happened to enter right after her. The reason why was unknown to her. Two, the men in black from earlier were present in the room. Another thing Sakura was clueless about. Third, Suki was sitting in one of the big leather chairs playing with her stuffed bunny, Mr. Cutie McMuffin Bunny-Bear. Behind her was Miss. Kurenai, holding Suki's backpack.

"Miss. Kurenai," Sakura began, "You called for me?"

"Yes." Miss. Kurenai smiled. "I apologize for calling you in late but Suki, here, is going to be -"

Miss. Kurenai was stopped mid-sentence as Suki jumped up from her seat and bounced over to Sakura. Yanking on Sakura's hands, she jumped up and down. "I'm getting adopted, Nee-chan! I'm getting adopted! And they said," Suki pointed over to the men in black, "I'm going to become a Princess! I'll be able to wear shiny tiaras and big, pretty dresses like in those princess movies we watched!"

"Really?" Sakura kneeled down to the little girl's eye level and smiled. Hugging her, "That's amazing Suki. See, what did I tell you? Princesses always get their fairytale ending."

Suki nodded enthusiastically, "And you do too, Nee-chan!"

"Huh?"

"You'll be able to be a princess too! You'll be able to live in the Palace too!"

Seeing the rosette's confusion written all over her face, Miss. Kurenai decided to speak up. "Because of Suki's health condition, you'll be staying with her at the Palace to ensure that everything's fine."

Still confused at the whole situation, Sakura asked, "For how long?"

"As long as the King and Queen deems it necessary." Miss. Kurenai replied but quickly added, "But don't worry, I highly doubt it'll be more than a month."

"King and Queen?" Sakura raised a single pink eyebrow. "Who adopted you, Suki?"

"The Royal Family." Miss. Kurenai said. "They wanted another grandchild but there were some...complications..."

Sakura nodded slowly as the new found information sank in. "Oh."

"Now that everything's settled," one of the men in black addressed, "we'll be coming by in two hours to take you to the Palace. Please pack your necessities and be ready by then."

"Okay." Sakura stood up from knelt position and brushed herself off. Turning to Suki, she smiled, "We'll, I'll see you in a few hours, sweetie."

"Okay! See you later, Nee-chan!" Suki waved goodbye as Sakura headed for the door. Exiting the room, she sighed, _'Awesome, another moving session...'_

* * *

"Why, you lucky little bitch." Ino shook her head in dismay. Grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl, "I wish I could see the Palace!"

"Right." Tenten nodded. "Oh, I heard the young Prince is a real yummy hunk. Hmmm."

"Yummy? That boy is fine." Ino said dreamily as she clawed the air. "Mr. Rawr for ya."

Sakura merely raised her eyebrow at the girls' fangirling. Packing up the last bit of her belongings, Sakura settled down into the space between the two girls with a flop. "You guys are weird..."

"Aww, come on sweetie, when you see him, it'll be the same reaction." Ino bumped her by the shoulder. "Bet you'll be drooling too."

"I'll believe it once it happens."

"Hmm…"

The commercials ended as the news lady came back on. _"Hello, and welcome back. This is Nana reporting for you this evening. Rumors has spend about the Royal Family's newly adopted grandchild, rumor or truth? Well, we would like to announce that those flimsy rumors are true. Shocking? Not quite is it, Ryuu?"_

The camera switched from the blond lady to the dark haired man beside her. _"It's most certainly not, Nana. These rumors have been flying around since the beginning of year. Not to mention, a few Royal Maids have let it slip here and there."_

_"Of course." _Nana said. _"In less than a few minutes, we'll be able to meet the newest addition to the Royal Family."_

_"I heard the new Princess is a real sweetheart."_

_"I bet she is."_

Behind the two reporters, the camera started to zoom in onto a group of people walking down the red carpet. First, the men dressed in black earlier walked down the carpet. Followed right after was our little sweetheart._  
_

_"And there she is.__" _Nana smiled. _"Just look at her, what a sweetheart."_

Sakura and the girls watched as Suki walked down the aisle wearing a baby blue dress. Her dark hair was curled to perfection as a sparkling tiara sat up top of her head. But that wasn't what caught the girls' attention. It was the person that Suki was holding hands with.

_"Oh, such a beautiful heart warming sight. She's holding hands with Prince Sasuke of Konohagakure."_

Jaws were dropped.

"What?" Sakura gaped. "_He's _the Prince?"

"Yeah, see I told you." Ino smirked. "A total eye candy. I could just jump him right then and there."

Ignoring the blond's dirty comment, Sakura jumped up from her seat. "You've got to be kidding me?'

"Gosh, why is he such a hottie?"

"He's the Prince?"

"Yes, Sakura."

"Seriously?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"This has to be a lie. You guys are kidding." Sakura flailed her arms.

Ino causally got up from her seat and took the panicking rosette by the shoulders and shook her. "My fudging gosh Sakura! Get it through your thick head that he's sexy and fucking beautiful and he's the Prince!"

"But he's an egoistic emo jerk." Sakura muttered. Suddenly, she smacked her forehead. "Damn...he's so going to have the Royal Guards after my ass..."

"Hold up," Tenten stood up and shook her head. "You're making it sound like you've met him already."

"Errrr...maybe..." Sakura stuttered.

Ino whipped her head around and stared at Sakura. "What? You're fucking kidding. Why didn't you tell us?"

"Well.. you see what had happen was..." Sakura began.

"Cut that bullshit, girly." Tenten said. "Now, explain."

"Uhhh... he was the guy at the dance that comforted me. Well, not really. He was insulting me a lot more. Oh, and I met him when I got lost the first day here. Except, I didn't know that because that stupid cap would always block my sight. Anyways, then I met him at the orphanage not too long ago... so yeah." Sakura rambled off. "Surprise?"

"Oh, shaddup girl." Ino smiled, then punched the girl on the shoulder. "You seriously are a lucky bitch."

With her head hung low, Sakura mumbled, "Not really."

"Alright that it's, you seriously need to shut up."

"But -," the loud ringing of her phone echoed throughout the room. Frowning, Sakura pulled out her phone. Looking at the lit up screen, "Unknown number?"

"Just answer the phone, girl." Tenten said as her and Ino sat back down.

"Hello?"

"Hn, Haruno Sakura? The Royal Family's chauffeur will be by in a few to get you."

Blinking, Sakura pulled the phone away from her ear, "Sasuke?"

"Aa. You go the memo?" He asked.

"What?" Sakura questioned stupidly. Then running a hand through her pink locks, "Oh, yeah. Yeah. I got the memo. Chauffeur in a few. Got it."

The other line clicked and went dead. Sakura lowered her phone. Looking up to face the girls, three dumbfound faces stared back at her.

"Nuh uh," Ino said, "you didn't just get a personal phone call from _THE_ Prince of Konoha..."

"Girl, you better believe it because she just did." Tenten commented.

Without a fair warning, Ino let out a high-pitch, deafening squeal. The blond pranced over to the frightened rosette and grasped her hands. "Aww, my baby girl is growing up!"

Sakura recomposed herself as she withdrew her hand from the blond's clutches. "Never again... will you let out your inner pig, Ino. _Never._"

"Oh, be quiet." Ino rolled her eyes. Smiling, she asked, "What are you going to wear? Please tell me you're not planning on wearing that?"

Being a tad bit self conscious - like any other girl, Sakura looked down at her laced pattern navy blue, white collared dress and tugged at it. "What's wrong with it? I like it."

"Yeah, it's cute and all. But it's not enough to bring someone to his knees and make him want you to jump him." Ino said. "Sweetie, we had this talk already. Show some skin!"

Ino tugged at her three quartered sleeve and shook her head. Before she could utter another word, Sakurar held a hand out in front of her. "Stop."

Sakura knelt down and slipped on her pink-beige trench coat before slinging the strap onto her shoulder. Grasping the metal handle of the suitcase behind her, she rolled it to the door. Straightening her posture, Sakura opened her mouth, "_We had this talk already. _I'm not changing for any guy. He's going to just deal with it. And seriously, Pig? He's the _freaking_ Prince for Kami's sake. There's absolutely no way in hell am I going to jump him."

Smiling, she opened the door. "Alright then, I have a ride to catch. You girls better call me everyday! I want at least one call from each of you. Ino, don't try to cook anything. Just let Tenten and Hinata handle that. Tenten, I trust you won't go overboard with the chocolate? And Hinata... try to keep your innocence around these dirty minded girls, hmm?"

The girls nodded. Ino was the first to hug the rosette goodbye, "Forehead, I don't have a dirty mind... just a sexy imagination."

Her smile widen at Ino's comment. "Oh, just shut up, Pig."

Laughing, Sakura then hugged the other girls. "Well," Sakura grabbed her suitcase, "guess this is a goodbye... for now. Not forever."

"See ya, Forehead." Ino said as Tenten and Hinata nodded, waving goodbye.

"Don't worry, girl. We'll see you after winter break." Tenten said.

Hinata nodded. "Don't w-worry Sakura-chan. W-we'll see y-you in no t-time."

Sakura smiled one last time before exiting the door.

* * *

It is a truth universally acknowledged that wearing a pair of heels longer than six hours was going to be a pain in the ass. And oh, how she was feeling it.

Sakura winced as she wiggled her toes, mind-numbing pain shot through her legs.

"Miss. Haruno, I heard that you're studying to be a doctor?"

Forcing a smile onto her face, she replied, "Yes, sir."

"Which area?"

"Hematology."

"Ah," the Prime Minster of England smiled. "Seems fitting for you."

His wife twirled her glass of red wine in her hand. "Is there a reason or inspiration that caused you to want to be a Hematologists?"

"My grandpa." Sakura smiled, one that was true and sincere. "When I was little, he always wanted one of his grandchildren to become a doctor of some sort. But in my family of cousins, they wanted to become something even more heroic you could say. They wanted to follow my grandpa's footstep and become a soldier."

The Prime Minister and his wife nodded, still smiling. "And what made you not follow that _heroic_ direction?"

"Well, for a girl like me," Sakura begin, "going into a battlefield with my bright bubblegum color haired is probably not the best of ideas."

This earned a few laughs.

"The definition of being heroic is different for everyone. Putting your life on the line for the sake of one's nation is certainly all by means heroic. But, will you be able to fulfill that duty if you're on the brink of death?"

Sakura let the audience dawn on the question and let it sink shook their heads.

"That's the reason why. I want to be able to increase your chances at fulfilling that duty. Although, I might not the recognition of saving our nation but I'll know it."

"I applaud you, dear." The Prime Minister's wife raised her glass. "There's not many girls like you out there. Never lose that spark."

"Yes, m'am." Sakura replied.

"Trust me. With a girl like you, you'll get the deserved recognition in the end." She said. As they bid their goodbyes, she pulled Sakura behind and whispered, "Men like their woman with that kind of spark."

As she walked away, she sent Sakura a wink.

Blushing to the roots of her hair, Sakura took a timid sip from her glass of sparkling red grape juice. Wanting some alone time, Sakura decided to head for the balcony. With just one step, she realized her fatal mistake. _'... Gosh, dammit. I swear, I'm going to murder the person that made high heels so uncomfortable and painful.'_

Instead of walking at her usual big strides, she had to settle for little steps like a baby just beginning to walk. Once she reached the balcony, she placed her glass on the marble railing before taking off her heels. Holding them by the back, she held them by her side.

Sakura gazed out into the distance. Judging by the height of the moon in the night sky, it had to be at least midnight or later. Stars of all sorts twinkled like little white Christmas lights. Darkness was a beautiful creature too, for stars can't shine without it.

Averting her eyes from the skies to the ground, thousands upon thousands of flowers met her sight. They were roses. Their sweet scent filled her nostrils. Closing her eyes, Sakura breathed it in, along with the cool winter night's air.

"My, what's a pretty, little lady like you doing out here alone?" Sakura felt the new comer's presence approach her from behind as he then settled in the space next to her. "Not to mention it's quite cold out here."

For the second time during this event, Sakura forced on a smile. "No sir, I just wanted to get some fresh air... alone."

Sakura hoped that the person got her message that she wanted to be alone. But it didn't seem to go through since the man hadn't made a move to go away.

"That's understandable. But congratulations." The man raised his glass and waited for her to do the same. "You must be a very qualified doctor to enter the Palace."

"Thank you." Sakura clinked her glass against his and took a sip. She was too tired to correct him that she wasn't even a doctor... yet. After a few moments, she decided to drain the whole glass in annoyance. The man had not moved an inch.

He smirked, "A heavy drinker, I see."

"No, just sparkling grape juice."

"Well that's too bad. That sparkling stuff just doesn't have the same affect." The man shrugged. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"Only nineteen? Wow, and you're a doctor? That's quite impressive, my dear."

Sakura sighed. "I'm still in school, sir. I'm not a doctor yet."

"Close enough."

Suddenly, Sakura felt like she had the winded knocked out of her as she doubled over trying to catch her breath. The floor beneath her spun, everything around her blurred.

"Miss! Are you alright?" The man asked. Sakura didn't know if it was her mind playing tricks on her but his tone wasn't exactly concerned.

She felt him place a hand on her back to help her up but it was placed a bit too low for her liking. Mustering all the strength she had, Sakura forced herself up as warning bells began to go off in her head. "I'm alright, sir."

"Here, let's get you a chair."

"No, sir. I'm quite alright." Sakura attempted to pull away from the man's grasp but her held her tight in place.

"But I insist."

Against her will, the man walked her. Instead of entering back inside, he revved of into the opposite direction.

"Hey, where are we going? The ballroom is back there." Sakura said.

"All that commotion in there isn't good for you right now, my dear." She didn't like the way he used endearment instead of the usual 'Miss.' It set off even more warning bells. "Let's find somewhere else... somewhere private."

That was most definitely the last straw. Sakura wriggled in his hold and tried pushing him away. She was even as desperate as hitting him with her shoes.

"Aw, don't be difficult now, my dear." He stopped the heel that was aimed his way and threw it behind him.

"Don't _dear _me anything!" Sakura spat. She didn't care who he was at the moment. Hell, he could have been the King. But no one was going to call 'dear' with sexual intentions hinted.

"Ah, here we go." He opened the door that belonged to an empty guest room.

Once they were inside, she was thrown on the bed as the door locked with 'click.' Sakura felt the weight of the bed shift as he climbed on it. His filthy hands began to roam her body, starting with her legs. They trailed up until they reached the zipper behind the nape of her neck.

Sakura tried moving her arms to swing at him but for some odd reason she couldn't move them, they were numb. "What?"

"Can't seem to move your arms, hm?" He chuckled. "You should be a bit more observant. I would have expected more from you, _doctor_. I drugged your drink."

Her vision became hazy as the man became nothing but a big blob. "Get... the... hell... off... of... me."

"Oh, I don't think so my dear. I haven't had my fun with you yet."

Sakura's stomach churned and clenched uneasily at his comment. Fear spread throughout her body as he began to tug on her zipper.

* * *

Suki was already tucked in bed by the time the last of the guests filtered out. Sasuke ran a tired hand through his raven locks as he walked back into the ballroom. Approaching his family, Sasuke bid everyone goodnight.

"You go rest, dear." Mikoto patted his back and smiled. "You have a niece to look after tomorrow."

"Aa."

"I think we all should rest for the night. It's quite late." Natsumi commented as she juggled a sleeping Kenji in her arms.

Itachi nodded as he place an arm around his wife. "I agree."

The Royal Family departed for the night.

Sasuke was on his way to the West wing when he realized he left his military cap in the ballroom. Sighing deeply, Sasuke turned around.

The soles of his shoes echoed loudly throughout the room. Reaching the white covered table, Sasuke grabbed his military cap. As he exited the room, something caught his eyes. On the marble floor of the balcony, a heel laid, knocked over on its side. The suede material glistened beneath the moon's rays.

Turning around, Sasuke walked over to it and stooped down to pick it up. Inspecting the navy colored shoe, Sasuke realized that it belonged to Sakura. Speaking of the pink-haired girl, he haven't seen her since their encounter at the orphanage. His brows knitted together in confusion at the condition of the shoe.

Sasuke looked to his right, the guests chambers, he swore he heard something. A loud crash answered his suspicion. Turning on his heel, Sasuke began to swiftly to make his way down the hall. The racket became louder as he came to the door at the end. Placing a hand on the metal handle, he turned it.

"Sasuke?" He withdrew his hand as his brother appeared from the opposite side. "What are you doing out here this late still?"

Sasuke simply raised the shoe in his hand.

Itachi frowned, his lip came together in a thin, straight line. Then he too raises the same shoe. "You too?"

"Hn."

A feminine shout followed by items being knocked over reached the two brothers' ear. Alerting the brothers, Sasuke quickly opened the door without another thought.

Inside, the room was in ruins. Priceless decorations and furniture were knocked over. The bed sheets were balled up and thrown off the bed. Paintings and framed pictures were crooked on the walls. Everything was in the state of mayhem and chaos.

The most shocking feature about the whole room were the two people present in it. Sakura and the Prince of North Korea. The rosette was found groping the wall fro support, looking as if she could faint any moment. While the Prince on the other hand was on the ground, sprawled out, nursing his slightly bruising cheek.

"You little bitch, how dare you laid a hand on the Prince of North Korea?" The twenty-year old man exclaimed. His face turned red in either embarrassment of being caught red-handed or anger.

He wasn't the only one turning red. Sakura was outraged. Except the red color emerging onto her pretty little face was slightly paler in comparison "Well sir, if you hadn't roamed you filthy, disgusting hands all over me, then that wouldn't have happen!" Her chest heaved up and down. "Bastard."

The man was ready to lunged for the girl but Itachi stepped in between them. Holding the Prince by the shoulders, he calmly said, "Let's not make any rational decisions. We'll solve this in the morning, when we're all fully rested and clear minded."

Roughly pulling himself out of Itachi's hold, he straighten his suit. "I'm perfectly fine. Maybe you should check on the crazy lunatic over there!"

Sakura opened her mouth to protest but decided to go against it. Closing her eyes, she placed a hand on her forehead. "Forget this. I'm going to rest." She turned and headed for the door. With one step, she expected to be alright and out the door, but Kami didn't planned that to happen. Instead, her body turned limp and the ground came much closer than what she would have liked.

Luckily, with his quick reflexes, Sasuke caught her by her arm. "Dear Kami," the rosette muttered, "I feel like shit."

Ignoring the girl's comment, Sasuke slid his left arm under her knees, and lifted her up. Sasuke made eye contact with Itachi, he got the message and nodded. Before he left, Itachi threw the opposite pair at him. Adjusting the girl in his arms, he caught the other shoe with his left hand. Sakura's head rolled onto his chest as she moaned in discomfort.

In silence, Sasuke carried her to her destinated room in the East Wing. Every once in a while, he would shift the rosette in his arms earning a moan or groan from her.

Opening the door, Sasuke stepped inside and closed it behind him. Walking to the bed, he threw the covers to the side and set her down. After covering the rosette's body with the white comforter, Sasuke stepped back and shoved his hands into his pocket.

He watched as her slender yet petite fingers struggle to grasp the comforter before pulling it over her head. Very quietly, she mumbled, "What is with you and shoes? We seriously need to stop meeting like this."

The corner of his lips tilted upward into a small smirk. Bending down, Sasuke placed her shoes by the bed post. Standing back up, he took one last glance at her. "Hn."

* * *

Through the parted blinds, rays of sunlight escaped, dancing on the rosette's face. Groggily rubbing her eyes, Sakura opened her eyes and yawned. Staring at the high ceiling, Sakura thought back to last night's event. Shivering, she was glad that it was a new day and everything was going to be fine and dandy.

...well that's what she was hoping for at least.

In reality, Sakura just finished retching all of her internal organs out. Her mouth tasted disgusting and her throat burned. Not to mention her body felt like it was on fire, burning as hot as the deepest pits of hell.

Holding onto the toilet bowl for support, she pushed herself up. Stumbling for the sink, she twisted the cold water knob. Cupping her hands together beneath the running faucet, Sakura splashed the icy, cold water into her face. She sighed at the cool impact of the water.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she sighed even deeper. She looked terrible. Raising her index finger, Sakura poked the cadaverous looking skin. There were dark bags underneath her dull emerald eyes, which used to be so vibrant and full of life. Sakura groaned at her awful looking appearance before running a tired, weak hand through her hair. She kept on running her hand through her hair until she detangled all of the knots.

Smoothing out the wrinkles of yesterday's dress, Sakura tried putting on a smile, even if it was fake. Glancing at her reflection once more, she nodded and walked out the door. At the sight of her still messy bed, she let her body fall on top of it. After the sixth time being in the bathroom and hugging the toilet bowl, she felt all of the energy in her body went down the drain.

"How are you feeling?"

"Hmm?" Sakura groaned through half-lidded eyes, she spotted Sasuke standing at the bed post. "I feel like a dead possum that got ran over by a billion cars."

"Hn." It might have been her imagination but she swore she heard him chuckle. But it could also be him clearing his throat too. The latter seemed much more reasonable.

Her button nose twitched as she detected a new scent. The bitter but sweet coffee aroma filled her nostrils. Usually she would find the smell oddly comforting and warm but today it was repulsive. It made her stomach clench then unclench, and then it would repeat. Sakura groaned as she covered her face with both of her hands.

"Your Highness?" The soft voice of a maid registered her ears.

"Just leave it there." Sasuke replied.

Sakura listened as the sound of glassware clashed and clinked with each other. Everything was still and quiet for a moment. Then, right next to her ear, she heard the familiar sound of a liquid swishing around in a glass cup. Peeking through the cracks of her fingers, she spotted a cup of tea being offered to her. Pulling her hands away from her face, she looked at the pale hand that held the cup, it belonged to none other then Sasuke himself.

Propping herself on her elbow, she carefully took hold of the cup. Taking a sip of it, Sakura took a moment to savor the taste. It was only then, that she realized that it was Arizona tea.

Pulling herself up into a sitting position, she rested the cup on her knee as a small smile spread on her lips. Looking up at Sasuke, "Thank you."

"Hn." The dark-haired Prince shrugged his shoulders.

Closing her eyes, she shielded her emerald colored eyes from the world for a second before opening them again. At the moment, she took in Sasuke's appearance.

The Prince of Konohagakure had one of the most bizarre hairstyle; his raven hair was styled in a way that it stuck up in the back. It was odd, almost abnormal considering the way it seemed to defy all laws of gravity. He was a tall guy that had a lean form. He was muscular, way beyond the average guy but, he wasn't majorly buff. Compared to all the other times Sakura has met him, he was wearing something other than his military uniform. He was currently wearing a tuxedo without the coat; just dress shirt and vest. To complete his whole arrogant Prince picture, he had his hands in the pockets of his pants.

But there was one feature Sakura seemed to forget. His face.

He had an angelic looking face with sharp features, one that could have been carved out of stone by the hands of a skilled sculpture. But the word angelic didn't seemed to fit. It was almost vampire like if she could dare say. Sakura had to sniffle a laugh at that thought. The most mesmerizing aspect of his whole face - just like for anyone - were his eyes. The eyes are known to be the windows to one's soul. Except here, they weren't. His onyx pools did manage to have the ability to melt her right then and there, but... they were so devoided of emotions, it was frightening almost. Sakura has never met someone with such emotionless eyes.

She's seen people with eyes of just hatred or fear but never like this. They were just black, dark, and bottomless.

After pulling herself from her train of thoughts, she realized that they were staring at each other.

The moment he let himself look into her emerald eyes, he was a goner. He couldn't move his eyes elsewhere. Although they weren't the same bright, vibrant emerald he's seen, it was still enough to hold him captive. True to their words, her eyes were truly the windows to her soul.

He saw every moment of pain and happiness she experienced, including everything in between. Sasuke wasn't so sure with what to do this new discovery. One thing he did know was that what he just unlocked about the rosette was just the beginning. He barely scratched the surface of her true identity, the life of Haruno Sakura.

"Nee-chan!" Suki came jumping in and tackled Sakura into a hug.

The eye contact between the two, immediately dropped.

"Hey, Suki." Sakura greeted the little girl with a smile. "Careful. Don't knock over my cup."

"Hmmm?" Suki green eyes eyed the cup that was balancing on Sakura's knee. Thne she pouted. "Nee-chan... no 'Morning, baby?'"

A small laugh slipped past her closed lips. Kissing the little girl on the tip of her nose, Sakura said, "Morning, baby."

As she did this, she sneaked a glance through her pink tresses at the narcissistic prince standing by her bed post. Sasuke had his arms crossed "proudly" in front of him while his head was turned to the side. What she didn't fail to miss was the way he was also sneaking glances at her by the corners of his eyes.

Smiling slyly, Sakura returned her attention back to Suki.

"So Nee-chan," Suki began, smiling. "You ready to see the Palace?"

"I don't see why not."

Suki nodded with so much energy that her head bobbed up and down like a bobble head. "Nii-san is going to take us!"

"Hmm? He will? Alright. Let me change and we'll get going -." Suddenly a wave of nauseousness hit her as she had the urge to empty her stomach out, yet again.

Hurriedly, Sakura ran to the bathroom. The qualm in her stomach began to build up, then she felt the burning in the the back of her throat. Her throat lit up on fire as the contents of her stomach left her body.

Flushing the toilet, she backed up against the wall behind her and dropped down. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes. _'Damn that bastard. What the hell was in that drug... It's been 24 hours and I still feel like shit.'_ All of the energy she had was drained from her. She was exhausted. She felt weak. Vulnerable. Pathetic. Letting all of her body weight drop to the floor, Sakrua sighed blissfully at the cold contact of the tiled floor against her flaming body.

After what seemed like hours, Sakura decided she need to pull herself together and get dressed for the tour. Walking into her private walk in closet, she headed towards the small little section in the back that held all of her clothes. Running a weak hand over her clothes that covered one sixteenth of the closet's space, she grabbed a trench like military style button up dress and black tights. Tugging those on, the worn out rosette scooped her hair up into a loose ponytail. Dragging her feet across the carpeted floor, Sakura walked back outside.

"Ne, Nii-san?" Suki tugged Sasuke's sleeve. Looking up at the dark-haired Prince, she asked, "Are you going to take us?"

"Aa."

"Will there be gardens?" Suki smiled, clasping her hands together. "Because I really, really, really like flowers."

"Aa. There will be flowers."

"Yay!" Suki beamed. "Will there be magical ponies or unicorns?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the little girl's question. Turning to the pale looking Sakura, he motioned his head at Suki. She just gave a small shrug of her shoulders.

"...Sure..."

The five year old girl's eyes sparkled at his answer and smiled brightly. It was then that Sakura decided to gather Suki in her arms and pick her up.

Brushing her nose against Suki's, earning a giggle from the little girl, Sakura said, "Alright, baby. Let's get this tour going."

* * *

The Palace was beautiful.

Beautifully crafted iron railings traveled to the side of thousands flights of stairs. The stairs curved and swirled throughout the whole Palace. Chandeliers were hung on the ceiling, illuminating every step that they took. On the top level, white columns supported the ceiling as arch windows allowed the morning sun to shine through. Everything practically glowed, like it was made of gold.

The marble floors were scrubbed and polished to perfection. One could even see their reflection. It was like looking at a mirror.

Looking down at the floor, Sakura stared back at the pale face girl with bubblegum pink hair, She couldn't imagine the hours that maids spent on the floor she stood on. If she listened hard and close enough, she could even hear the maids' cry of pain. Their weeps of pain and sadness. Shaking her head sadly, she moved on.

The Palace library was astounding, and huge. Sakura would have never thought there could be libraries as big and pretty as the one's in the Disney Princesses movies. But it was. Books upon books were stacked from the floor all the way to the painted ceiling. Marble staircases swirled to the top with a rest on every floor. Red carpeted floors branched out from each staircase, giving access to every book. In the center of each wall of all of the four sides were floor length windows traveling side by side with the staircases. The view was amazing.

But the library wasn't her favorite room. The Tower room was her absolute favorite.

The Tower sat on the west side of the Palace, facing the city. Floor length windows made up the room with occasional cobblestone bricks here and there. A grand piano sat in the middle of the marble floor, untouched. It's keys gleamed as the morning sun shone on it. Window beds lined the perimeter as five pillars supported the room, arranged in the shape of a pentagon. Then to the left of the entrance as a spiral staircase leading upstairs to another library, a miniature version of the big one.

The only difference was that the view was magnificent. Astoundingly beautiful. Looking out those windows, Sakura felt like she was teleported into a different dimension. The view was gorgeous. From the 360 view, facing the west, she saw very building and skyscraper Konoha had to offer. Neon lights blinked in the early morning light, attempting to attract some customers. Big billboards advertised products in fine print.

To the bottom though, she saw the beauty that nature had to offer.

The garden surrounding the Tower looked like it was tended by Persephone herself. Flowers of all sort bloomed, from wild ones to exotic ones. Although it was currently the beginning of winter, the flowers still grew, especially the roses. Some were beginning to wilt, but they were still beautiful.

The morning frost clung to the petals and leaves, glistening like stars, shining bright like a diamond.

Sakura watched as Suki took Sasuke out into the garden, her raven locks bouncing on her back as she skipped. The little girl bent down and sniffed a ruby red rose. A smile spread on her face as she pointed at it. Then she moved onto the next flower. After sniffing a few more flowers, Suki turned around and looked at Sakura through the window. Waving her little fingers, she motion Sakura to come outside with them.

Shaking her head with a small smile, Sakura mouthed, "It's alright. you go ahead."

Suki pouted cutely before grasping Sasuke buy the hand, taking him farther into the garden.

Tiredly, Sakura walked over to the grand piano. Brushing her fingers across the cold black and ivory keys, she sat down. Resting her hands onto the perfect piano position, she straighten her posture, and played a single chord. The rich, full sounding chord rang. She waited for the ring to disappear before lowering her hands into her lap. The corners of her mouth tilted upwards as she recalled the feelings of producing such an amazing sound from a piano. She missed it. She missed the cold touches of the keys under her fingers, the raw chills that shivered through her body when she would play chords, the hungry fingers itching to play, the frustration of messing up, and the pride that filled her soul when she was finish. She missed it.

Sighing, she rested her cheek onto the cold keys and closed her eyes. It was then that Sakura realized the she missed a lot of things.

Like the innocent life of high school. She missed the fun carefree times she spent with her friends. The days she would spend with them searching for prom dresses, trying on hundreds until each of them found the perfect one. The hours she would spend on those cold metal benches cheering on the football team until her voice went hoarse. Or sharing the anxiety of taking a test. But what she probably missed the most was the way every problem had a defiant solution. Now, everything seemed impossible.

She missed the warmth of a family too. Sakura didn't always have a strong connection with her parents but that didn't mean she didn't love them. She missed the stupid arguments they would have and the fun times they had, like movie night.

Now don't get her wrong, college life was a hell of a blast but there's just some things that aren't the same anymore.

* * *

After Itachi came by to whisk Suki away, Sasuke returned back into the Tower. Walking past the grande piano, a pink blob peeked up and above the dashboard. Smirking, he stopped and leaned against the Steinway.

Her breathing was slow and steady, the rosette had fallen asleep. Glancing at her over his shoulder, he noticed some things. Her cheeks were redder than normal and her skin looked awfully pale in comparison to the shinning ivory keys. The hair-tie that was holding her ponytail together was slowly slipping off. Just at it reached the end of her pink tips, Sasuke held his hand out and caught it. Her pink locks tumbled over her shoulders messily, yet it was perfect.

Setting his eyes onto the patterned hair-tie in his hand, he rolled it between his fingers before slipping it on his wrist. Turning around, Sasuke sat down by Sakura on the black bench.

Eyeing the black and ivory keys, he rubbed his hands together. Sighing, he positioned his hands onto the keys. His eyes traveled over to the rosette one last time before her began.

* * *

In Sakura's head, she saw nothing but an empty voided space. It was strikingly familiar to looking into a certain Prince's eyes. But suddenly, a whimsical tune flowed to her ears. It was rich and full. That was when an image began to piece together in her head, filling in the empty black space.

An image of a little boy holding hands with a girl around his age appeared. They ran across the Tuscany green hills, hand in hand, smiling like there's no tomorrow.

Then the scene shifted. It was still the same boy and girl, except they were ten now. The girl, now nearly as tall as the boy, had him tackled to the ground. She giggled as he tried to wriggle out of her hold. Bending down, she planted a kiss on his cheek. The boy flailed his arms and scrambled to his feet. Running away, he shouted something about cooties.

Sakura could hear the accompanying strings and percussion come in, playing a quick, fun scale as time fasted forward.

It showed the kids under a cherry blossom tree. The boy was leaning against the the trunk of the tree with his hands in his pockets in the cool thirteen year old way. Meanwhile, the girl was blushing just like any thirteen year old girl confessing her love.

A couple more years fasted forward. Now it was the boy's turn to blush slightly as he held hands with his girlfriend. The two were at their prom, crowned King and Queen. The scene was lovely.

The piano tune turned heartfelt and deeply moving as slideshow of the rest of their lives played. The two at the altar, him in a black tux and her in a white dress. Then it showed them holding their first child, then their second. By the end of the piano passage, the images stopped at the two living as a happy married life with a family, before everything went black with the piano's last note.

* * *

Mikoto stopped in her steps as her eyes widened. Looking over at Kimiko, Mikoto questioned, "Is that a piano?"

Bewildered, Kimiko replied, "I believe so, Your Highness. It's coming from the Tower."

Like the Queen herself, everyone in the Palace stopped their activities and listened to the sound of a playing piano. A sound they haven't heard since a long time.

"It's the Prince, isn't it?" Mikoto smiled, teary-eyed.

"I believe so, Your Highness."

* * *

Letting the final note ring, he removed his hands. The rosette beside him was sleeping deeper than ever. Shaking his head, Sasuke got up. "Hn. Such a pig, sleeping all day."

The rosette did stir for a bit as the afternoon sunlight shined on her eyes. Seeing this, Sasuke reached into Suki's dress up chest and pulled out a fake military cap. Wiggling it snugly on top of her pink head, he let it cover her face. Taking the random post-it note and sharpie on the nearby table, he stuck it to the piano with the note written, Sasuke smirked. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he walked out of the Tower.

It wasn't until later that emerald green eyes opened as Sakura woke up. Blinking, she looked out the window. Taking the way the sky was a midnight blue with the stars already out, she must have fallen asleep for quite some time. Searching around, she realized that Suki and Sasuke had already left sometime during her "nap." Sighing, the rosette stood up but a blinding neon colored post-it note stuck to the piano caught her attention as well as the fake military cap on her head. Frowning, Sakura removed the cap and held it in her hand. Reading the note, a grace of a smile slipped onto her face.

_"Hn. Some audience you are."_

* * *

_**{A/N}:** _And there we have it my loves, the next chapter of _FHF. _Hope you guys enjoyed it, because I most certainly did when I was writing it :) And please excuse any errors, I was editing this when I was playing UNO with my little sisters... so yeah...it got kind of intense... Anyways, that's all I have to say. Hope the length made up for the long wait... nearly 8000 words! That's cray... **PLEASE REVIEW!** I would really like to get at least 100 reviews for a total amount :) Review :)

Haha, and I hope you liked the mini SasuXSaku there. UP is such a big inspiration for this chapter :) I like watched it over ten times last weekend. It's such a cute movie. A must see movie of all time. :)

******************{Thanks to}: ILoveSxS, xXmysterious-unknownXx, apple21, Strawberry Fae, Rikato Tojidofukuto, Noura, MikazukiDreams, DeathBerry46, and NaRcIsSiStIcAlLy In LoVe.**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Finding Her Fairytale**_

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Just read, enjoy, have a good laugh or two, let a tear slip here and there, get mad at cliffhangers or late updates, and review. Even if it's a one word, review.**_

_**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!**_

* * *

Sakura decided that cameras were... _annoying_. The pictures that they produced were well, amazing but was the constant flash necessary? No, it wasn't. At least not when it's already blindingly bright on the stage.

It was a media interview and Suki was in the limelight. And boy, was she having fun. Sakura's never seen such a big smile on her face like that before. The little girl having the time of her life.

"Princess," one reporter began, "how does it feel to suddenly become Cinderella out of the blue? It must feel different, yes? How does it feel to have such a big family now?"

Suki sneaked a glance at Sasuke, who was sitting beside her at the table. He gave her a small nod. Looking back at the reporter, she said, "I think I'm pretty lucky."

"Why is that, Princess?"

"I always wanted to be a princess not for the pretty tiaras but for the family. I've never had a family before aside from Nee-chan and the other nurses. I like having a family."

"And who's this _'Nee-chan'_?"

"Oh," Suki exclaimed, then she tugged at Sakura's arm, smiling. "This is _'Nee-chan'_."

Immediately, a billion flashes went off, capturing the sight of Sakura and Suki as the little princess announced it.

"Miss. Haruno, if you don't mind, we have a couple questions to ask of you." The reporter said. "You're a university student at KU, correct? We heard that you're studying to be a doctor, a hematologist to be exact, a doctor that studies blood. And your hometown is Suna. How does it feel to move to the big city. A total Cinderella story, I assume?"

Sakura was slightly taken back at ow much information the reporter had of her. She bet that it was only a small section from a bucket of things he knew about her. "A Cinderella story seems like a fitting title for my life right now. Yes, a small town girl like me moved to the big city for opportunities. And I guess opportunities came knocking at my door a bit quicker than others."

The reporter nodded, then he asked, "What do you think of this opportunity living with the Royal Family?"

"It's a dream come true." She smiled. "As a little girl, I've always dreamt of living in a Palace."

A couple of laughs and chuckles erupted from the audience.

"Marrying the Prince, becoming a Princess and living in the Palace was you childhood fantasy, ne?" The reported smiled. "Fairytale come true then."

"That seems legit," Sakura smiled back.

* * *

"Oh, come you guys. Open up." Naruto pleaded, his breath visible in the cold, winter air. The blond attempted to warm himself up by rubbing his forearms. "Please? I'm really sorry about what happened, Hinata. Can't I at least say that? One apology, that's all. Please?"

"Alright, go ahead, shithead. Let's hear that apology." Ino shouted from the other side.

"But... can't you at least open the door."

"No." Ino replied back curtly. It was nice, short, and clear.

Naruto sighed but he figured at least it was a step closer at fixing the issue. "I'm really, _really_, really sorry. I know what's been done has been done, and that there's no rewind button in real life. Though, I kind of wished I had Cinderella's Godmother's magic wand. Man, that would be amazing. Believe it!"

From the other side, Ino rolled her baby blue eyes and mouthed, "See, what did I tell you. He's just going to make it into a joke." Seeing that he was getting off topic, he steered himself back on track. "But that's not the point though. What I - we did was wrong, you guys got to give us some brownie points for acknowledging that we're wrong. The bonds we had can't be cut that easily, at least not like this. There has to be something we could do."

Ino cleared her throat, "Excuse me? We? As far as I'm concerned, "_we_ was not part of this issue."

"Huh? Oh! NO! Not like that!" Naruto groaned. "We as in me and Kiba. That we."

"Yeah, better, asshole."

"Ino-chan..."

"Don't you dare call me that."

"Come on, Ino-chan. I'm really sorry, and I really mean it." Naruto said.

"Stop using really. You're overusing it, it doesn't have the intial meaning anymore. Just go home, Naruto." Ino shouted back.

"...but this is home...," his voice was barely a whisper. His sun-kissed head hung low, his chin touching his chest.

"As far as I'm concerned, home was suppose to be a place that was not to be forgotten." Ino bit back, her voice cracking. "Go home, Naruto. Go home to your soldier boys. You're not welcome here."

Hinata grabbed Ino's arm, her eyes wide as saucers. "Ino...," her mouth went slack. She couldn't believe that the blond girl just said those harsh words.

"What?" Ino retorted back, frowning. "He deserved those words. You can't forget what home is by the drop of a pin. No. It's called home for a reason."

Hinata couldn't argue there. Home was home. Home was a dwelling place where a family or social unit occupies. A place of refuge, security, or origin. It was also an environment that offered happiness. It wasn't to be forgotten. Especially not when you have something - or rather someone waiting for you there.

"Forget it, Naruto!" Ino shouted. Then after a few moments she added bitterly, "Oh, wait, you already did."

The constant knocking on the door, courtesy of a certain blond knucklehead, ceased. Very quietly, the girls heard him mumble, "Sorry guys. I'll... I guess I'll leave you guys alone. I'm probably being annoying." His feet shuffled across the floor, becoming distant with each step.

Hinata stood there, a raging war occurring inside of her. A battle between the angel and devil of herself. Her fingers were itching to grab the jacket laying on the arm of the couch, while her feet were nailed to the ground. _'What am I going to do?'_ Her head was ready to explode, she could practically hear the ear splitting battle cries that her angel and devil self were yelling at each other. Whipping her head around, she found that the girls were no longer in the room; Tenten had retreated to her room, Ino as well.

Turning her head back to the door, she sighed. Somehow her eyes kept on landing on her winter jacket. It seemed so appealing to throw it on and run after Naruto. A classic Korean drama for sure. "Well...," she took a deep breath. Without another thought, she threw it on and dashed out the apartment. She pushed the button for the elevator. She pushed it once, then twice, then trice. But it wasn't coming quick enough. Hinata stood there, twirling her thumbs anxiously. After a minute, she blew a stray piece of hair that managed to fall into her eyes before dashing for the stairs. She shoved that metal doors opened and took two steps at a time. Sometimes even three.

The cold winter air hit her face like a thousand needles. Tugging her jacket closer to her body, she searched for the blond boy. Spotting him, she walked briskly after him. Opening her mouth, she ran her tongue over her chapped lips before shouting, "Naruto-kun."

He stopped dead in his tracks. Naruto rose his head and took a glance over his shoulder. Turning around sadly, he gave her a small smile. "Hey, Hinata-chan."

As an uncomfortable silence slid in between the two, Naruto took this moment to take in the girl's appearance. She looked beautiful standing there in the snow. Her dark lavender locks swirled around her like Christmas ribbons, catching bits of snow in her hair as the wind kissed her rosy cheeks. With the night crisp and still, Naruto watched the girl cast her eyes down to the ground. She stood there like a quiet Bambi surrounded by the naked tress and frosted leaves.

Once again, Naruto opened his mouth, "I'm really sorry, Hinata-chan..." Naruto's apology turned into nothing but a cold breath in the long, winter night. Apologizing was a hopeless cause but he had to try. He wasn't ready to give up yet. Believe it.

"I know...," her heartbroken reply got carried away in the wind too but Naruto heard it. The way she said it nearly killed him. He never heard her so... broken. The Hinata he knew - well used to know was quiet. Sure, she was quiet, but there was a minuscule of hinted strength behind her shy stuttering. Now... she just sounded defeated and tired of the whole situation. She was slowing surrendering to the whole concept of trying to make things work. The girl was on the brink of giving up... _'No.'_ Naruto thought. _'I can't let that happen.'_

Naruto raked his hand through his blond spikes, thinking - hard. Just when he too decided to almost give up, an idea popped into his head. Smiling, he looked up at Hinata. He saw her eyes widen a fraction at his request but in seconds, the corners of her lips curved into a small, timid smile. "Okay."

With her acceptance, Naruto grabbed her my her hands and dragged her to his car.

* * *

Since the morning media interview, Sakura haven't seen Sasuke since.

Sakura placed the last set of clothes into her suitcase and zipped it up. Lifting it off her bed with ease, she rolled it out of her room. As she exited, Sakura nearly bumped into one of the maids. "Oh, gosh." She placed a hand over her racing heart and said, "Sorry."

"Oh, no, Miss. Pardon me for my clumsiness. My dearest apologies." The maid bowed.

Sakura merely waved her hands and laughed. "No problem. I'm a klutz at natural anyways."

"Aren't we all are?" The maid commented, smiling. Her smile suddenly faltered though. "Miss, is everything alright?"

"Hm?" Sakura rose a single pink eyebrow.

"Miss, if the Prince happened to anger or upset you in anyway, he didn't mean it. He's an ill tempered person since he was little. Please don't let that affect you in anyway, Miss. He meant no harm."

"What are you talking about? When did he upset me?" Sakura questioned.

"But... isn't that the reason why you're leaving?" She motioned at the suitcase behind Sakura.

"Oh." Sakura looked down at the suitcase and couldn't help but laugh. She covered her mouth and continued to laugh as the maid stared at her. "No, no. I'm not leaving because of the Prince. Far from it actually. I'm visiting my parents for the holidays and I'll be back."

"Oh... then nevermind, Miss." She flushed, embarrassed. "Pardon me."

"It's perfectly fine." Sakura continued walking with a small smile on her face, shaking her head. Bidding everyone a 'Happy Holidays' and goodbye, she walked down the grand staircase that descended down the front french doors. At the bottom she spotted non other than Ino and her purple convertible with its black hood up of course. "Oi, hurry up, Forehead! I'm freezing my ass off here!"

The rosette hurried down the steps and tackled her into a hug. "I can't believe I'm saying this but... I miss you so much." Sakura joked.

"Well of course. I'm freaking lovable."

"But... I definitely don't miss that shrill voice of yours."

"Hey!" Ino exclaimed, laughing along with Sakura. Patting the rosette on the back, she withdrew from the embrace and lugged the suitcase into the trunk. Panting, Ino wheezed, "Dang... what is in here? Rocks? Seriously, did you pack your whole room or what?"

Bumping her hips against Ino's, Sakura lifted the suitcase with ease into the trunk. "No. But I think you did, Pig." Her emerald orbs glanced at the blond for a split second before sliding over to the trunk, eyeing Ino's set of cheetah print suitcases and bags.

Ino laughed and shut the trunk with a slam. "Well... you see what had happen was..."

"Oh, shut up, Pig." Sakura smiled. "Those stories never work."

Ino stuck her tongue out at the girl, "Whatever."

"Yeah. That's what I thought."

Once Ino started the car and began driving down the snow covered road, that was when she turned down the music and smiled mischievously at Sakura. "So?"

"What?" Sakura gave her an innocent, clueless look.

"Oh, don't look so innocent!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Come one. How was it? Hm?" Ino smiled. Glancing at the rosette, she saw confusion written all over Sakura's face. "You're kidding... So you haven't jumped him yet?"

"Who?"

"The Prince, for god sake! Who else, Forehead." Ino exclaimed.

"Oh... Oh! No! Of course not. Ino, are you crazy? He's the freaking Prince. He'll have his lawyer and Royal Guards on me in a second's time."

"So." Ino shrugged. "If I were you I would have jumped him a long time ago."

"Ino, you are crazy." Sakura shook her head. "Plus it's not like I see him everyday."

"You don't?" Ino questioned, her brows knitting together. "But don't you guys live like right next to each other?"

"No. He's a Prince too, and a military officer. He's busy. I barely see him. I see him like once or twice a month if I'm lucky."

"Didn't you say that you saw him a lot?"

Sakura shook her head again, "That was three months ago. Right now he's at some Royal Family Christmas dinner with Suki."

Ino mouthed a simple 'o' and averted her eyes back onto the road. But Ino couldn't resist the urge to comment, "I would've jumped him anyways."

Sakura threw her a look and burst out laughing. Meanwhile, her phone vibrated. Still dying of laughter, Sakura picked it up. Not even bothering to look at the screen, she spoke into the phone, "Hello?"

"But hey, there has to be that one bit of dirty Sakura that wants to jump him. Oh, just admit it. I swear if you don't admit it, then I'm labeling you as lesbian, Forehead. My lesbian lover. That Prince is smoking!" Ino said, not noticing that the girl was on the phone.

The said girl was equally distracted from the electronic device by her ear. Her laughing stopped for a moment as she took the question into consideration. Sighing, but with a Cheshire grin on her face, "Yes, Ino, I would jump the Prince. I'm a girl after all, and in my book I would define him as Calvin Klein underwear model worthy hot."

"Oh, girl!" Ino hollered, laughing non-stop.

Sakura was laughing too until she heard the person on the other line clear their throat. Immediately, she paled as one word ran through her mind as she bit her lip. _'Shit.' _The oh so familiar deep, husky voice said,"Hn... good to know I'm Calvin Klein underwear model worthy, _Sa-ku-ra_." Amusement was hinted in hid tone as her name rolled off his tongue.

"Hehe... you wouldn't happen to hear that, did you?" Sakura flushed, smacking herself mentally. _'Stupid._' She shot the blond laughing her fucking ass off in the driver's seat a glare. All she got in return was, "Your fault, stupid." Raking a hand through her hair, she sighed.

"I heard every _single_ word."

"Damn." Sakura cussed at her luck.

"What was that? I didn't catch it." Now the wretched young Prince was just teasing her.

"Nothing..."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, clearly amused. "I'll be by later to drop Suki off."

"Oh, okay, yeah." The important detail sunk into Sakura once she finally got past her embarrassment. Suddenly, she became worried. "Why? Is everything alright? Suki?"

A bit of shuffling and rustling was heard as the phone was passed on. Then an awfully sleepily Suki answered the phone, "Hmm, Nee-chan?" It seemed that the girl had just woke up from a nap of some sort.

"Hey, Baby. You feeling alright?"

"Yeah. I feel warm though and this dress doesn't help. It's hot." Suki half said, half complained. "It's uncomfortable, Nee-chan."

"Oh, I know, Baby." Sakura replied, understandingly. "Alright, why don't you hand the phone over to Nii-san?"

"She's warm but she doesn't have a fever." Sasuke said the moment he had the phone.

"Okay, just drop her off at my house tonight and I'll take care of it."

Without another word, the line at the other end clicked and went dead. Ino watched as the rosette ran a hand through her hair and sighed for the umpteenth time that day. She was edgy.

"I'm sure little Suki will be fine." Ino reassured the troubled rosette biting on the knuckles of her hand. "Trust me, the temperature will ware off. It's probably just the sudden change in temperatures from the hot houses to the frostbite temperatures outside that's throwing her system off. She'll be fine. Stop being a worry wart will you. It creates wrinkles."

* * *

Boy, was Ino wrong... about everything.

Not more than ten minutes after Ino dropped her off at her cozy, childhood house in Suna did she get an urgent call from Sasuke. When she answered the phone, she didn't hear the familiar deep, husky voice, instead she heard whimpering in the background, "I want to go home. I want Nee-chan. I want to go home."

"Suki?" The girl almost never whimpered or cried about anything unless it was serious. Immediately, Sakura was alarmed by this. "Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"High fever and she vomited twice in the last hour."

Rubbing her forehead, she frowned. "If it's under 102, medicine isn't necessary. Let her drink a lot of water and have her dress into something comfortable."

"Okay."

Sensing that he was about to hang up soon, Sakura hastily added, "Cool, clear liquids like fruit juices, gatorade, but especially water. Don't dress Suki in too warm clothing or cover her with blankets. It'll stop the heat of the fever from escaping. Try to keep some fluid down, we don't want her to become dehydrated.

Sakura heard him sigh drearily on the other end of the line, "Okay, _mom_."

"Oh, shut up." The irritated rosette pocketed her phone into the pockets of her over-sized sweater and began pacing back and forth, biting her knuckles. Peeking out the window in her dining room she groaned at the amount of snow piling down on the roads. At this rate, she won't be seeing her sick baby anytime soon. "Well... at least I won't have to see my parents yet. If they see Suki and Sasuke, it'll be too soon."

Sakura groaned loudly into her hands as she plunged down into one of the cushioned dining chairs. _'They're going to be out for my head once they find out that I signed up for the orphanage and took the offer to take a "break" in my schooling to do an internship. Especially when they told me I couldn't. Damn... I'm screwed.' _Tilting her head back, she listened to each click that emitted from the old grandfather clock they owned. Sliding her eyes close, Sakura waited for the clock to strike yet another wasted hour of Christmas Eve. Not exactly how she had imagined her night before Christmas for sure.

What she had imagined was hot coco, sitting by the fireplace all toasty and warm, watching movies until her eyes can't keep themselves open anymore. Guess that wasn't going to go as planned. Sighing, she said to no one in particular, "Does anything?" And the answer was no.

Two hours and some dozen minutes passed and the closest she got to her Christmas Eve's plans was freezing her ass off in front of an old, wooden grandfather clock, and drinking her own saliva. At least one thing went as planned; she was on the verge of feeling asleep, her eyes were burning, yearning to close. Rubbing the grogginess out of her system before standing up and stretching like a cat. Sakura sighed blissfully as she heard her back pop multiple times. Glancing at the clock, she grabbed her phone, checking for any missed calls or texts. None.

Walking to the kitchen, the rosette settled into whipping a cup of coco for herself. Usually a tall can of Arizona Tea would have been fine, but drinking a cold beverage when it's below zero degrees outside didn't seem too appealing at the moment. In the mist of stirring her steaming hot coco, her phone buzzed to life with a sever winter weather alert. "Level 3? You're kidding." She mumbled in a frustrated manner. Tucking a strand of pink hair behind her ear, Sakura took a sip of her winter beverage, savoring the rich, chocolaty goodness. "Well... at least we'll have a white Christmas."

And then, the doorbell rang, filling the empty house with its ring. Setting her cup down, Sakura rushed to the door. Once she got over the fumble with the lock, biting icy winds hit her in the face as she opened the door. There, Sasuke stood in a long, black winter trench coat with a bundle in his arms. She immediately reached out and grabbed Suki. The little girl's head rolled onto her shoulder. Suki opened her half-lidded eyes, "Nee-chan?"

"Yeah, Baby?" Sakura patted the girl's back in a motherly manner and held her close. "How are you feeling now?'

"Hot."

Sakura laughed lightly. "I bet you are. But it's normal. I'll see what I can do, okay?" The worn out girl nodded into her shoulder and closed her eyes.

As if she remembered that Sasuke was still there, Sakura ushered him in. "Hey, what are you doing standing out there? We don't need another one of us getting a fever. One is enough." Sakura scolded him, pulling him in by his sleeve.

"Hn."

The medic-kicked in mode rosette raised her eyebrows and sent the stubborn Prince an incredulous look. Tilting her head out onto the three feet snow covered roads, she said, "What makes you think you're going to be able to drive on those roads. We're under a level 3 snow emergency. Prince or not, do you want to commit suicide or what?" Judging by the cold, blank stare she got from him, he didn't appreciate her humor. "So, what are you doing out there? Get your ass in here."

Giving her one last glance, he sighed and entered inside. Satisfied, Sakura shut the door and proceeded back to the kitchen, where she enjoyed the rest of her coco with Suki safely tucked in her arms. Sasuke followed her and leaned against the marble counter top. She peeked at him above the rim of her cup. The stoic Prince had his arms crossed across his chest in a proud manner, surveying the kitchen. It didn't take much for her to realize that he had a duffle bag slung over his shoulders. Smirking, she thought to herself,_ 'What was he doing rejecting me when he already planned on doing it anyways. That sly bastard, acting all cool and crap.'_ Clearing her throat quietly, she smiled cunningly, "If you want to change, the bathroom is down there to your left."

Sasuke looked to where she pointed and nodded, "Hn."

"You're welcome." The Prince gave her a glare at the mocking tone that came from her reply. Sniffling a laugh, she bit the insides of her cheeks and took a drink from her cup, looking-not-so-innocent staring in the opposite direction.

By the time Sasuke returned, Sakura had Suki upstairs in her bedroom all nice and comfy and she was well on her way with her second cup of coco.

"Would you like some tea?" Sasuke nodded as he watched her delicate, slim fingers wrap around the porcelain handle of the teakettle. Very skillfully, she poured him a cup of tea. She grabbed the cup of tea and held it out to him. Sasuke reached out and took the cup from her and while he did so, the tips of his fingers accidentally brushed her hand. He surely didn't miss the way she hastily withdrew her hand back into her lap as if it burned her or the way her cheeks flushed lightly afterwards. Nope. He didn't miss a thing as he sipped his tea.

Sakura slowly wrapped her hands around her cup and raised it to her lips where she blew at the steam rising above the rims. Setting it back down, she attempted to strike up a conversation. "You know, I really miss this place."

The dark-haired Prince sitting across from her was quiet without a reply, though she hadn't anticipated a reply anyways. Just when she was about to open her mouth and continue on, he knitted his brows together and asked, "You like the rigorous weather?"

She waved her hands in front of her and shook her head frantically. "Oh, gosh, no."

"Hn." He grunted. Looking at her intently, he said, "I thought Suna was known for its sun and hot weather. Not its terrible blizzards."

"Well then, blame global warming for that." The rosette huffed in response. "This has to be the first year in ten years that it snowed. And then years ago we got like a light dust of white on the ground that I'm sure didn't even count as snow."

"Snow is snow."

"Yeah...," she mumbled in reply, "but it's a pain in the ass."

Sasuke smirked at her vulgar response. "I thought girls like the snow because it's romantic."

"I don't have anything against snow because without it there wouldn't be the holy blessed snow days in high school. But is the freezing temperatures and the disgusting slushie mess that comes with it really necessary?"

"Hn. Yeah. It needs to be at least 32 degrees for it to snow." He replied back smartly in which she gave him a blank look. with every ticking moment, he was becoming more and more amused by the rosette.

The light, amused air was shattered as a scream echoed through the house. "Mommy!"

Sakura was off her stool in a moment's time, racing up the stairs with Sasuke following behind just as quick. She was expecting Suki to be in her bed in her bedroom fussing about a nightmare. Definitely not in the bathroom down the hall covered in blood.

"Oh my gosh. What happened?" Her motherly instincts kicked in more so than her medic. At once, Sakura was by Suki's side, grabbing a roll of paper towels underneath the sink. Tearing sheets off of the roll, Sakura began pinching Suki's nostrils together. "Don't tilt your head back, okay?" Suki did as she was told but her crying didn't stop. If anything it increased as she glanced at the blood everywhere. "Hey, hey. It's fine. A little nosebleed is fine. Nothing to worry about, Baby."

While Sakura was tending the nose bleed, Sasuke knelt down and began cleaning up the bloody mess on the floor.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, Baby?" Before Suki cold even reply, the little girl began coughing up blood uncontrollably. Sakura's emerald eyes widen as she rushed the girl to the sink. "Spit out any blood into the sink. Don't swallow it." She rubbed the girl's back and continued to pinch Suki's nose to stop the nose bleed.

Throwing away the bloody paper towels, Sasuke stood up behind the two and reached to turn on the faucet.

_'You've got to be kidding me.'_ Sakura thought as she felt a blush creeping up onto her cheeks at the approximate distance between her arms and his. She could practically feel the heat radiating off his arms. _'Couldn't he just reach around us? Jeez...'_

Drying his hands with the towel on the towel rack, he turned and left. "I'll go get her some new clothes."

Ten minutes later, Sasuke came back with a clean pair of clothes and Sakura finally got the bleeding to stop. Grabbing the new clothes, she closed the door in his face. Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Do you wan some hot coco, Suki?"

"Yes, please."

"Alright." Sasuke turned and left for the kitchen.

When Sakura arrived downstairs with Suki all comfortable and snug in her arms, she didn't expect a movie showing its preview and two cups of hot coco on the living room table. Nor did she expect the fireplace to be on, flickering with life and warmth.

She walked over and took a seat on the couch. Picking up her cup, she said a quick 'thanks' and handed Suki's hers. Afterwards silence filled in between the gaps of the movie's preview.

Surprisingly, it was Suki who spoke up first. "Nii-san?" Sasuke turned his head and gave her his attention. "Why am I wearing your t-shirt?" The little girl tugged at the white t-shirt that she was wearing over her black legging. The piece of fabric practically swallowed her small frame, acting as a dress reaching his knees.

"You wouldn't want to wear your puffy, uncomfortable dresses right now, would you?" Sasuke asked. Suki shook her head no. "That was the only thing I could find that was comfortable." Satisfied with the answer, her lips turned into an 'o' as she went back to drinking her hot coco. Her attention left the t-shirt mystery and went back to focusing on the Disney movie that was starting.

If possible the sky outside turned darker as the wind began to pick up, hammering against the house. A blowing wall of white was all that was visible. The wind screeched and howled in a deafening manner like nails on a chalkboard. Piercing needles of snow and ice threatened to brake through the windows, sweeping in the cold from outside. And then everything went black.

Troubled, Sakura looked around, but all she saw was darkness. "Blackout?" A long sigh escaped her lips. She shivered slightly at the heat retreating with the coldness taking over. Blackouts in the winter didn't just mean darkness but also the feeling of coldness. No heat. "Awesome..." The single word slipped off her tongue real sarcastically.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted back, rubbing his face.

...it was going to be a _long_ night.

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_**{A/N}:**_And that will conclude chapter six. Hope you guys enjoy it! I do apologize for the delay on the updates on all my stories. School was the evil villain, taking all of my time making me study and cram for exams. And orchestra is there to blame too though. But all that hard-work in orchestra paid off though, WE'RE HEADING TO NATIONALS! WHOO! Celebration time :) And that my friends, is the reason why I took a whole week to myself since summer began for me about a week ago :) Jealous? I'm sorry, please don't kill me! I still have to complete this story and others. Oh, another thing before I leave, there's a poll up on my profile on which fanfic should I write next. So, please check it out and vote :) Well then, happy reading! Review too :)**  
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******************{Thanks to}: ILoveSxS, BlackPoppy. 0, Strawberry Fae, CaribbeanTrinidadian, Noura, SkeleTonQueeN06, MiyatheEarthninja, Lilac Queen, LovelyLuna1002, PoisonedRed-EyedBlackRabbit, annie. silly. me, Ruined Doll, Animefan4everx and jenfreaks123.**

******************xoxo,KP**


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